


My Name Is Hannah

by Onhiro



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Druid Hannah, F/F, Fantasy AU, Rogue Amanda, based off of D&D, half-elf Hannah, prejudiced elves are jerks, spicy chapters later on, that's actually an important plot point, trigger warning: discrimination, use of Sindarin elvish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28495914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onhiro/pseuds/Onhiro
Summary: Amanda is a human Rogue who was unfortunately separated from her party due to a faulty teleportation scroll. Unfortunately, a forest controlled by an elven kingdom known to discriminate outsiders lies between her and her companions, and the journey around it could take well over a month.But then, a boon: a half-elf Druid who could be her ticket through the forest. Unbeknownst to Amanda, however, the half-elf who introduces herself as Hannah might not actually be the best choice to be a guide through the elven realm, and not for reasons that one would expect. What misadventures await Amanda and her less than willing guide?Based directly off of the absolutely wonderful concept created by GayMentality during Hamanda Week 2020. Artwork was posted with their permission, and I highly recommend visiting their Tumblr for great artwork and delightful concepts!
Relationships: Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill
Comments: 42
Kudos: 64





	1. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GayMentality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayMentality/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This really shouldn't have happened. The stupid scroll that Amanda had bought on bargain had been faulty, and she had ended up on the other side of a forest ruled over by an elven kingdom known for its distrust of outsiders and Amanda...well, she _may_ have had something of a history with an amorous elven princess that might make her even less welcome than others might be. But, dammit, she didn't want to have to travel well over a month around the darn forest! But without someone willing to be a guide through the lands, she didn't have much of an option...
> 
> Almost as though on cue, an annoyed voice comes from behind her, and she turns to find a half-elf giving her a suspicious glare. Was she Amanda's ticket through the forest? Well, it's not like she had any other choices!
> 
> Unfortunately, nothing was ever quite that easy, was it?

A Chance Encounter

Amanda sucked air between her teeth as she narrowed her eyes at the wall of foliage that stood before her, and she rubbed her jaw as she contemplated her options as well as curse the shopkeep who had sold her that scroll. “Should’ve known that that much of a discount on a teleportation scroll was a bad thing,” she muttered darkly to herself.

Normally a forest standing between her and where she needed to be wasn’t a problem. She was a seasoned adventurer, and even without her party with her, she was a formidable force all on her own. But these weren’t just any woods. This forest was the home of an elven kingdom. And not just any elven kingdom, but one that was known for turning travelers aside if they did not have permission to cross the lands, and given that there was a, ah, misunderstanding about an incident involving the Crown Jewels and an amorous elven princess that happened while the elven royal family was visiting a nearby kingdom when Amanda just so happened to be in the same city...well, she knew her chances of getting access were slim at best.

“Who are you and what are you doing so close to elven lands?”

The suspicious voice caught Amanda by surprise, and she whirled, dancing back as she kept her hands free, ready to draw any number of knives she had hidden about her person. She hadn’t heard anyone on the road behind her, so for someone to sneak up on her that easily...

A woman. An elf, slightly shorter than her, with fair skin besides a rosy band running across her cheeks and nose that was a color somewhere between a tan and a sunburn, and Amanda stared at it for a moment, confused. She didn’t even know elves could get sunburns...

Her clothing also didn’t bring to mind the elegance the elves were known for, a short and hooded tunic cut so that her midriff was exposed and shorts, both made of leather. Turnshoes covered her feet, and Amanda’s gaze roamed over the exposed skin of her legs, arms, and abdomen, noting the yellow tattoos that covered her, including on her face. The common element seemed to be three lines, running together with dots along one side of them. She wondered what the symbolism behind the design was.

Wary hazel eyes had been making their own perusal of Amanda, and she didn’t miss how they lingered on her undercut hair or the piercings in her ears and eyebrow or on the scar that ran down her right jaw, continuing on to her neck and (under her leather armor and green jacket below) her upper chest, courtesy of a goblin who had gotten lucky, but only just once. The elf woman narrowed her eyes as she shifted, a basket of berries balanced against her hip and a staff strapped across her back.

Then, without warning, a crow fluttered down out of the air to land neatly on the elf’s shoulder, and it cawed once before it tilted its head to regard Amanda with a cool, beady eye. “I ask again,” the elf said, her voice with a lyrical lilt to it, “who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Amanda O’Neill and I’m an adventurer. I need passage through the forest to meet my companions on the other side. There was a mishap with a scroll and we ended up in different places, I’m just trying to get to them.”

The elf huffed. “Sounds like a problem for you and not for me.” She walked forward, skirting around Amanda. “I wouldn’t stand there long, the Wardens frown on letting outsiders get so close.”

Amanda started after her, quickly laying her hand on the elf’s shoulder that had the crow on it, and the bird cocked its head indignantly at the contact. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Before you take off, at least hear me out! Listen, if you extend your welcome to me as an elf, I can cut through the forest rather than go hundreds of miles around. Please! I can make it worth your while, and I won’t cause any trouble!”

For a brief, flitting second, she could have sworn that hurt flashed through those hazel eyes before they became guarded. “And what could you possibly have that would interest me?”

“Coin. Name your price and I’ll match it. Or what about scrolls or potions or spirit artifacts or anything like that? My group is wealthy and well stocked, and they’d be indebted to you if you just help me out.” Her free hand hovered in the air near the elf’s hand. “Please,” she pleaded, “you’re the best chance I have of getting to my friends.”

The elf stared at her for a long moment before she finally sighed. “Fine. One hundred gold and a chance to peruse the goods of your party beyond. But you must swear to not start trouble in these woods. Any conflict you start will be mine to deal with long after you’ve gone, and my people have long memories.”

Amanda grinned. “Too easy! Thank you so much, you’re a life saver.”

“Don’t thank me as of yet,” the elf muttered as she briefly shook Amanda’s offered hand. “Come then, and follow me.”

Amanda fell in step besides the elf as they continued towards the forest before them. “So, what do I call you?” she asked.

A very long pause answered her. “You may call me Hannah,” the elf finally answered, her voice terse.

“Hannah?” Amanda asked, her head cocked curiously to the side. “That’s not an elven name.”

“Bold of you to assume that I’d give my elven name to a strange human I’d only just met,” came the terse reply.

“...that’s fair.”

Hannah sighed very heavily as she just _stared_ at Amanda for a very long moment, her expression quite clearly conveying the fact that she would rather Amanda be a worm that she could ignore or some such. But then her shoulders sagged as she continued leading Amanda towards the looming wall of trees. “Don’t start anything,” she said, voice flat and weary. “If you start a fight, I swear on the Great Elm itself that I will leave you to your fate.”

Amanda had heard enough threats to ignore the face value of this one, at least for the moment. “What fate would that be?”

Hannah didn’t answer for a moment, hazel eyes flicking up towards the crowns of the trees ahead of them. “Imprisonment. Likely deportation after trial.”

Amanda snorted. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“…it’s an Elvish prison. They have a nasty habit of forgetting that they have prisoners in there. Not so bad if you’re an elf, but I imagine that having a decade pass because the nearest magistrate couldn’t be arsed to actually process your case wouldn’t exactly be something that you’d want, yeah?”

Amanda winced. “That’s a very good point.”

“Of course it was. Now shut it, the Wardens might actually try and stop us, and the less you talk, the better.”

“Wait, the Wardens?”

A disgusted sigh. “What did I _just_ …you know what, nevermind. Yes. _The Wardens_. There’s a high chance that for however long you were standing out there looking like a lost ass waiting for its owner, they had multiple bows trained on you.”

Amanda frowned, now also glancing at the forest that they were just now entering. “Wait, you said that they’d just throw me in prison.”

“That’s if you were previously a _guest_ ,” the word was spat, “on Elvish lands, not an intruder.”

“You know, you aren’t all that friendly,” Amanda observed, her tone deceptively light even as her palms began to sweat. The thought of unseen archers watching her made the skin between her shoulder blades itch, for some reason…

“What would you prefer, me or an arrow through the eye?”

“There’s no guarantee that she won’t get both,” came the snide, cool voice, and they both froze as the elves dressed in greens and greys appeared around them as though by magic. “Who are you and what are you doing in these lands?” the first speaker asked, blue eyes cold as chips of ice as he glared disdainfully at Amanda.

“I’m-” Amanda started only for Hannah to smack her in the gut with the back of her hand, hard enough to drive the air from her lungs. Wheezing, she shot Hannah a strained glare, only to notice the bead of sweat rolling down the side of Hannah’s face, noticed how her eyes were wide and her entire body was tense. Hannah started speaking then, and in elvish, the flowing language falling gracefully from her lips, and Amanda blinked before slowly straightening with a wince. For such a short little thing she could pack a whallop!

The leader of the group of Wardens shot Amanda another dismissive glance before he started to converse with Hannah, all in elvish. Amanda was familiar with the language, and knew a few throwaway phrases that she had learned on her journey (half of which were either rude or insults and thus useless in this situation) but she certainly didn’t speak it enough to even hope to follow the conversation. And so she just stood there, silent and still while Hannah explained the situation…or at least, that’s what she hoped what Hannah was doing. Finally the leader of the Wardens rolled his eyes, even that gesture looking more graceful than it had any right to be. “Very well, Peredhel,” he said, the words delivered in what was only just not a sneer. “You and the human have permission to proceed.” Those cold blue eyes met Amanda’s gaze, and his lips curled back in what absolutely _was_ a sneer. “Get this thing out of our lands as soon as possible. Surely this is something that even one such as you can accomplish.”

Amanda glanced at Hannah in time to see how her face tightened into a glare even as she bowed jerkily, her jaw clenching. “Yes, my lord. We’ll make haste,” she muttered, and there was a tense pause before the warden spoke again.

“Very well. See to it, Peredhel.”

Then, just like that, the Wardens were gone, not even a leaf stirring through the air showing their passing, and Amanda shifted uneasily as she glanced over her shoulder, not liking that they could do that. She knew that elves were good at hiding themselves in forests, but surely not _this_ good…

“Come on,” Hannah said in a tight voice as she turned, once more walking down the road. Amanda had no other choice but to follow, and her eyes dropped down to the basket that Hannah was holding. Her knuckles were bone white…

xxxXXXxxx

They wouldn’t reach a trading settlement or any place that would allow them to stay the night, Hannah reported hours later as the sun drew close to the western horizon. As such, they would have to make camp, and hopefully Amanda’s thin human skin could handle the hardship. Amanda had snorted and said that she could handle anything that Hannah could, prompting a dark glare that was delivered with significantly more vitriol than she had expected, especially since she had been sure to deliver it in a teasing tone. “I can only hope that that’s the case,” Hannah had finally said before continuing onwards, her crow moving over to her other shoulder with a fluttering hop before cawing angrily at Amanda. Oh, come on, even the _bird_ was giving her lip? How was _that_ fair?

Finally, as the day shifted into twilight, Hannah came to a halt, peering through what little undergrowth was allowed to grow in these woods. “There,” she said, pointing, and Amanda couldn’t actually see what she was gesturing at. Seeing her confused expression, Hannah huffed with annoyance, grabbing Amanda’s hand in her own before leading her off the main road, and after a minute or two of weaving around the thick trunks of the trees, they reached a small campsite set around an orderly ring of stones set close together, the old remains of a fire set in the middle of them.

“Are these…common?” Amanda asked, looking curiously around her, and Hannah mutely shook her head as she set down the bowl of berries, pulling the gauzy golden-brown wrap from around her waist and setting it over the bowl, tying it so that the fabric stretched tightly across the bowl. Then she was moving across the small clearing, peering about her before she made a small noise in the back of her throat. Amanda watched as Hannah pulled back what looked for all the world like a bed of moss, revealing neatly stacked firewood underneath it.

“Make yourself useful and go collect kindling. You _do_ know how to do that much at least, yes?” Hannah sneered, and, oh, if she wasn’t the only thing keeping Amanda from getting kicked out or imprisoned!

“Me know how to do. Me big dumb human but can pick up dry sticks and leaves. Me go now,” Amanda shot back in a mockingly deep voice before she moved out into the surrounding woods, making sure to memorize the stand of trees around the campsite. She just knew that Hannah wouldn’t let her live it down if she got lost.

Thankfully it didn’t take too long for her to gather enough kindling to start a good fire, and even better, she didn’t have any trouble finding her way back to camp. Hannah glanced up at her as she got back, and if she was at all impressed with Amanda, she didn’t let it show. “Oh, good, it can be useful,” she muttered snidely. “Can I assume that you can set up a fire as well?”

“That would be a safe assumption,” Amanda shot back. “What type you want? Lots of light and heat or more subdued and slower burning?”

“I’m surprised, you even know that there’s more than one type of campfire! I was afraid I’d have to teach you even that simple task…slower burning. It’ll be chill tonight, all we need is some heat to ward that off.” She narrowed her eyes. “Unless the poor human can’t survive off of trail rations and needs to actually cook something tonight.”

Amanda’s teeth ground together. “You know, you’re being awfully bitchy for someone making a hundred gold and more for escorting me,” she bit out.

“And you’re being awfully mouthy for someone who now doesn’t have to walk the long way around this forest.” Annoyed hazel eyes flicked down to the fire pit. “Now are you going to make a fire or are you going to continue to waste time?”

Amanda didn’t bother replying to that, though she sure muttered angrily under her breath as she built the fire and got it started. Hannah gave one cursory glance at the fire after it got really going and only offered a terse nod. Neither of them said anything else to each other for the rest of the evening, though Amanda did make sure to use her Sending Ring to let the others know that she was coming through the forest and that they should wait for her. After that was done, she ate some of the hardtack, dried fruit, jerky, and hard cheese that she carried for just such emergencies. Hunger sated, she turned in, wrapping herself up in her cloak before lying down, aware that Hannah was sitting across the fire from her, watching her with suspicious eyes. It took her a while to fall asleep.

The next morning dawned clear and chill, the fire now mere embers that smoked faintly, and it took Amanda a while to shake the cold out of her limbs, something that Hannah didn’t seem to have any issue with, even though her clothing was much lighter than Amanda’s. Stupid prissy elves being less sensitive to nature. Bullcrap is what _that_ was.

One small mercy was that Hannah seemed just as content to maintain the same level of silence as before, and other than a few curt sentences as they broke camp and made sure that the fire was fully extinguished before they continued on their way, they hardly spoke. Unlike yesterday, however, today there was more traffic on the road, and more still on unseen walkways between the massive trees that stretched up over their heads, according to Hannah. Those elves that they encountered on the ground level weren’t all that subtle with their looks, which ranged from curious to haughty and even to disgusted, as that they were looking at something they’d scrape off the bottom of their shoes. It was a challenge for Amanda to not tell any of them off, but she didn’t want to run the risk of pissing Hannah off and having her call the deal off while they were in the middle of the forest. Speaking of…Amanda noticed that Hannah looked almost miserable and withdrawn as the day crept on towards noon. At first Amanda thought it was because she was stuck with the ‘bumbling human,’ but then she noticed something weird.

The other elves weren’t just looking at Amanda, they were also staring at Hannah.

Shortly before noon, they reached a crossroads, and Hannah sat just off the road without explanation. Amanda quirked a brow at that before shrugging and sitting down herself, reaching into her haversack to pull out what would pass for lunch. “You know, for a bunch’a people that try to say they’re all learnéd and crap, seems like manners are a bit in short supply ‘round here,” she mentioned before taking a drink of water. Sighing contentedly as she lowered her waterskin, she glanced over at Hannah who was making a point of staring down the road that intersected the one that they had been walking on. “There a reason for that?”

“It’s because you’re uncouth,” Hannah replied, voice blunt.

Amanda shrugged. “Sure. I get that. But why are they looking at _you_ like that?” Hannah didn’t answer, and after a long and awkward silence, Amanda shrugged again and began to eat her lunch.

Some twenty minutes later, Hannah perked up, the crow on her shoulder cawing and bobbing up and down as Hannah stood, gathering up her bowl of berries. There was a tall elf in fancy robes heading towards them from the road that Hannah had been watching with what looked like a servant in tow, and Amanda also got to her feet as the other elf drew close, a look of disdain on her face as she looked down at the two of them. “What’s this?” she asked, green eyes flitting to Amanda.

Hannah’s head was bowed. “A traveler, my lady,” she murmured respectfully. “I’m escorting her through our lands, and have permission from the Grey Wardens.”

Those cold and hard green eyes held Amanda’s stubborn gaze before she gave a slight hmph. “Make sure you’re quick about it, Peredhel. This one is _deleb_ and doesn’t belong in our lands.”

“Yes, my lady,” Hannah replied even as Amanda’s jaw tightened while she fought to keep her face expressionless. _Deleb_. Their word for loathsome or horrible. Were all elves this terrible, or was it just this damn kingdom? She didn’t remember it being this bad before! A couple choice phrases sprang to mind, but she held her tongue as the elf lady glanced at her before switching to elvish, inspecting Hannah’s bowl of berries. Finally, after a minute or two of going back and forth, she produced a coin purse and counted out a few coins that winked copper in the light that filtered through the trees above before handing them to Hannah and taking the bowl. Without another word, the lady handed the bowl to her servant, and the two of them left, Hannah staring after their retreating bodies for a moment.

Amanda thumbed her nose at the elves with a sneer. “ _Deleb_ this, you bitch!” she growled, and she didn’t flinch or look away when the elf lady turned her head to glower over her shoulder as she and her servant continued on. Amanda wasn’t surprised by that look. She knew just how good elf ears were. That done, she turned her attention back to Hannah, who was staring at the copper coins resting in her palm, face blank. “She hired you to pick berries?” Amanda asked, slightly confused. After all, Hannah had come from outside of the forest with them.

Hannah’s fingers slowly closed over the coins, and she sighed as she stepped out onto the road again, tucking the coins away as Amanda followed obediently after. “They’re very rare berries that she needs in order to make a type of wine she’s famous for. Something to do with a specific accent she’s looking for.”

Now Amanda was frowning, suspicions beginning to form in her mind. “I’m guessing this wine is expensive?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

“At least fifteen gold pieces for a bottle,” Hannah replied, and it was the resigned, wearied tone in her voice that bothered Amanda more than anything.

“Hang on, if she can’t make that stupid wine without your berries, then why the hell did she only give you seven copper?” she snapped. “More importantly, why did you accept that? Those berries have to be worth more than that if you had to leave the forest to find them!”

“Because that’s what I was going to get for them.”

Amanda was already turning and heading back the way that they came, fire in her eyes. “I’m gonna piss on those berries!” she snarled, hands curled into fists at her sides. “Can’t even give you a decent price for them? The hell with that!”

Surprisingly strong hands wrapped around her arm, pulling her to an abrupt stop. “Look, can you just-! Ugh, listen, with what I’m getting from helping you out, I’m not going to have to worry about money for a while, and starting a fight with her is going to do a lot more harm than good. Can we just go, please?”

Amanda glared down the other road for a moment longer before she sighed, turning to face Hannah. “Fine. She’s not worth my time, anyhow.” Hannah looked noticeably relieved as the two of them began to walk again, but Amanda’s anger was slow to dwindle, and she scowled as she kicked at the dirt of the road. “Feh. After we’re done and you get paid you should go find her and hit her in the face with the money. Show her what’s what.” Her scowl deepened. “Should’ve pickpocketed her when I had the chance!”

Hannah was silent for a moment as she glanced at Amanda. “You know, you’re being awfully passionate about this. And here I thought you didn’t like me.”

Amanda grimaced as she put her hands behind her head, stretching her arms and shoulders as they walked. “It’s not about liking you or disliking you, it’s about how dishonest that shit was.”

Hannah snorted at that. “Wait, dishonest? What about pickpocketing her? Or is there some sort of double standard I don’t know about?”

Amanda frowned. “Hey, that’s completely different. Properly paying someone for a job you hired them to do shouldn’t even be a question. If you hire me to go rob someone or quietly ah, _remove_ a nuisance from your life, then you’d better pay me the agreed upon amount. As for my stealing, well…if I get caught, I go to prison, right? And whatever I manage to steal, I earned by putting in the effort to take it.” She paused, grinning. “And besides, society needs thieves and murderers…how else are guards going to justify their existence?”

To her surprise, Hannah actually chuckled at that, covering her mouth with her hand as she looked away, sure, but Amanda totally heard it. “Oh, hey, would you look at that, you have a sense of humor,” she quipped, and Hannah glanced back at her before primly looking forward, her stride lengthening.

“I laughed because I had pity on you,” she sniffed indignantly. “It was a terrible joke.”

“Suuuure.” Silence fell upon them once more, but this time…it felt more comfortable, rather than the frigid, uneasy silences that Amanda was used to. She took the moment to organize her thoughts, because there was still a thought that was troubling her, and she wanted to word it properly. Ah, okay. “I think…one of the reasons that I’m so pissed at her is because she’s acting like she’s all high and mighty, when not paying someone what they’re actually worth is one of the shittiest things that you can do. It was an insult, and while I’m not exactly _fond_ of you, I’m still gonna pay you what you’re worth. I hope that lady’s wine tastes like piss.”

Hannah hummed thoughtfully. “Oh? Tell me, what am I worth?”

Amanda scoffed. “Sure as hell a lot more than seven freaking copper!” She then shrugged. “And, I mean, at the very least, I think your time is worth a hundred gold.”

She didn’t miss the bitter smile that twisted Hannah’s lips. “You were desperate.”

“Maybe. And wealthy, too. My party is skilled and we’ve cleared many dungeons. But wealthy and desperate or not, if I didn’t agree that your escort across these lands was worth a hundred gold, I’d’ve haggled the price down.”

“…I suppose that’s true.” Then Hannah chuckled again. “Though, I wouldn’t have accepted less than eighty.”

Amanda smirked. “I bet I could’ve gotten you down to sixty-five.”

“And make a pauper out of me? How dare. Seventy-eight.”

“Seventy and a really nice bauble for your crow.”

The bird cawed at that, tilting its head to stare at Hannah, who gave an overly dramatic gasp. “Turning my own friend against me? I see how you adventurers are! Seventy-five and _two_ shiny baubles for her.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can manage that,” Amanda grinned. “So, she, huh? What’s her name?”

“Elenath.”

“Oh, that’s pretty. What’s it mean?”

“It’s basically…the sum of all the hosts of heaven. All the stars in the sky.”

Amanda nodded. “Not bad. Oh, hey, speaking of names, what does Peredhel mean? Is it, like, a title or something, or…Hannah?”

Whatever mirth that had just been present had fled from Hannah’s face, and Amanda could see the muscles working furiously in her jaw and her eyes were as hard as flint. “Do _not_ ,” she spat out from between clenched teeth, “use that word!”

Amanda sidled away from her, and she moved her hands from the back of her head, holding them out soothingly. “Okay, okay, I won’t, I was just curious! The others keep calling you that, and-” She blinked, the truth hitting like a knife to the back, the clear disdain that the elves had showed whenever they said it telling her what it was. “It’s an insult, isn’t it? A slur?”

Hannah’s voice was bitter. “It shouldn’t be,” she hissed. “It means _half-elf_.” She opened her mouth as though to say something else, but then shook her head as her face grew closed off. “I don’t want to talk anymore.” Once again, silence descended on them, filled with more tension than it had ever been before.


	2. A Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the aftermath of Amanda discovering some of what Hannah has had to endure as a half-elf in this kingdom, the rest of their day is passed in silence. Unfortunately, things don't get much better when they reach the trading town where they'll be staying the night. What should be a simple process of getting a room at an inn is made unnecessarily difficult, and when they do finally get a room, they find that their issues just never seem to end...

A Rude Awakening

Not one more word was said between them for the rest of the afternoon, leaving Amanda in a particularly foul mood, to say nothing of how Hannah must be feeling… Amanda found herself missing the light banter that they had oh so briefly shared more than she thought she would. This heavy silence was no substitute for it. But she couldn’t think of anything to say as they continued on, the road that they were walking along merging with a much larger and more established road made of smoothed stone. The traffic grew heavier, mostly merchants with wagons, but Amanda didn’t miss how the road was not nearly as congested as it could have been…at its heaviest, it was far lighter than what she saw in most Human, Dwarven, or Halfling realms.

Then, as the afternoon shifted into evening, they came upon a small town on the forest floor, the first that Amanda had seen. Hannah must have noticed her curious glances, and she sighed as she slowed the ground eating pace that they had been walking in for hours now. “It’s a trading town,” she explained, sounding more wearied than she should have been. “The kingdom uses it to house foreign merchants and craftsmen that they don’t trust enough to let into the settlements above. It’ll have an inn that we can stay at.”

Amanda groaned with relief at that. “Thank the gods! It’ll be nice to sleep on a bed.”

“Indeed.” There was a certain wariness in that word, and Hannah reached out, tugging on Amanda’s sleeve, pulling her to a stop. “Listen…this isn’t going to be like other trading towns I’m sure you’ve been to. Keep your head down and don’t start anything. That’s all I ask.” She must have seen the look in Amanda’s eyes for what it was, because she frowned. “Remember, elven prison,” she said warningly.

Amanda sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. I won’t start anything. Won’t even try to steal anything, either.”

“Thank you for that, I’m sure it’s a terrible sacrifice on your part,” Hannah said, her voice dry. “Now, come on, let’s go.”

One thing became immediately apparent to Amanda as they entered the walled town, it really wasn’t like any other trading town she had been in. For starters, it seemed extremely utilitarian. Yes, the architecture was beautiful and bore all the grace that elven builders were known for, but…for all that beauty, it didn’t feel welcoming here. It was like the town merely had the bare minimum needed for merchants and traders and travelers to have a place to park their wagons and carts and stable their animals and a place for them to eat and sleep. There were only a few houses down here, and Amanda could see no theaters or libraries or taverns. There was what could pass for a market place in the middle of the town, but again, it seemed geared more towards selling necessities for travel than for selling things for amusement or entertainment. The largest building in town seemed to be the warehouse where the traders could do business with guild representatives, and there was a larger than expected (or even needed, for that matter) number of guards armed with spears and bows patrolling the streets in polished armor.

The message seemed uncomfortably clear: you may look, but do not touch. Conduct your business, and leave. Amanda got the sneaking suspicion that the walls around the town were not actually there to keep things _out_ , but to keep the outsiders _in_ , neatly stuck in one place.

It was at that point that Amanda truly realized that the more she learned about the elves from this forest kingdom, the more that she was growing a very healthy dislike of them. Which was a shame, really. She knew some really nice elves, and had even been in other elven kingdoms which were far more welcoming than this one. Aloof, yes, and they took their time with _everything_ , but still polite and agreeable.

These elves? Yeah, they could go kick rocks.

Unfortunately for Hannah and Amanda, that feeling seemed to be mutual. The first inn they went to barely took a single glance at them before turning them away, not even bothering to listen to Hannah. The second inn at least bothered to hear Hannah out before showing them the door, though that didn’t seem like all that much of a victory, what with how deep the scowl was on Hannah’s face as they once more found themselves on the street. “May I ask what the problem is?” Amanda said, her voice light.

Hannah groaned as she rubbed her temples. “You don’t have a trader’s token.”

Amanda blinked. “A what now?”

“A trader’s token. They’re issued to trusted merchants and traders, you need them to stay at most of the inns in the kingdom, and they can be revoked if you cause trouble.”

Amanda grunted, not at all surprised at the information. “You know, whatever the hell your kingdom trades has to be really freaking good, because I can’t imagine anyone willingly putting up with this bullshit.” She paused. “So, where does that leave us?”

“We’ll have to go to the free inn,” Hannah replied dully, already heading down the street.

“I get the feeling that ‘free’ has nothing to do with cost of lodging.”

“Astute of you. Free means that anyone can stay at it, so you can imagine the clientele that they have.”

“Pretty much everyone who couldn’t stay at the nicer inns, huh?”

“You guessed it.”

The inn in question was well off the main drag, and Amanda felt her palms itching and the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as they walked through the narrow, dark streets. It wasn’t quite to the level of being a slum, but it was probably just about as close as it could get in an elven kingdom. It was obvious that this part of the small town wasn’t cared about. Thankfully they reached the building without incident, but Amanda didn’t miss how the stares they were receiving were bordering on hostile rather than the disdainful from other parts of town. Great. One more thing to worry about…

The innkeeper gave them a flat, unamused stare as they walked through the door. “What do you want?” he asked as he leaned forward, both hands on the top of the bar, and what little of a crowd there was watched the interaction like wolves staring at an injured elk.

“Rooms for the night,” Hannah replied curtly. “And dinner and breakfast.”

“We’ve got one room left, so you’ll have to share,” he said with a leer. “And it’ll be a gold piece for it.” He glanced between the two of them. “Each.”

“A _gold?!_ ” Amanda cut in with a dark frown. “The hell it costs a full gold for one room and meals!”

“That’ll be two gold for you, and any more lip and you can go sleep in the stable with the other animals,” he shot back with a hard smirk. “Count yourself lucky that that’s not what we started with…I know how you adventurers are.”

Hannah cleared her throat softly, fingers unobtrusively reaching out to tug slightly on the side of Amanda’s pants. That’s right, don’t start anything. Amanda gave the innkeep a seething glare before she dug in her coin purse and slammed three gold coins on the table. “For your troubles, _sir_ ,” she hissed, and the elf’s smirk grew larger. “Might we have our dinner now?”

He gave a short, mocking bow. “By all means, make yourselves at home.”

“Oh, we plan on it,” Amanda shot back before Hannah was leading her insistently away from the man, and she found a small booth that was tucked out of the way. Amanda found herself relaxing slightly as some of the attention that they were getting from the other patrons went away, and conversations began to pick up again.

Once they sat down, Hannah sighed as she relaxed slightly, and Elenath gave a short, hoarse caw as she fluttered the short distance to the chair next to Hannah, where she perched on its back. Hannah blinked before frowning at the bird. “Don’t you dare!” she said warningly, and Elenath gave an indignant caw. “I don’t care how funny it would be, don’t shit on their floor!”

Amanda snorted. “You know, I really think I like you,” she grinned at Elenath, and if she had ever seen a bird look smugly pleased before…she leaned back in her own chair, taking the chance to really look around. Honestly, it was a little jarring. The elven elegance seemed only surface deep, unable to hide the shabbiness of the building that ran deeper. It wasn’t even a matter of hiding it, it was almost more like it drew attention to it. It was like putting noble clothes on a pig wrestler…the clash between the elegant façade and the ugliness beneath made it even worse than if they had just been honest and not tried to hide it. “So is this how it’s going to be in every town we reach?”

Hannah nodded, looking glum. “If you were here on any official business, then we could probably stay somewhere nicer, but the kingdom really doesn’t have a very high opinion of adventurers…”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Before Hannah could retort to that, a gangly elven adolescent came out with a tray, and Amanda was pleasantly disappointed. She expected the food to be just as bad as the inn, but it was actually of decent standard. Thick brown bread still steaming and with thick pats of butter, some sort of a green soup, and what she assumed was venison on a bed of greens with an assortment of sautéed nuts on the side, served with flagons of watered down wine. After a few days of nothing but her trail rations, it might as well have been the finest feast, and other than it being a bit bland, Amanda had no complaints. They both ate in silence, Hannah sharing her food with Elenath.

It was the boisterous laughter that got Amanda’s attention first, and she glanced over at two elves sitting a few tables away, and frowned as she noticed that they had been looking at her and Hannah when they had been laughing. Eh, well, let them laugh. Her attention returned to her nearly finished dinner, and that might have been that…except the two began to talk louder in elvish, and Amanda actually recognized quite a few of the words they were using. Great, she was being insulted. That was okay, she could bear it for a little while longer and then they could go up to their room and go to sleep and leave this wretched little-

Hannah flinched, her gaze firmly on her plate at one word, a word that was delivered with venom: “Peredhel.”

Amanda was up and out of her seat before she was even aware that she had moved, and the inn grew quiet again as she stood over the two elves. The blond one sneered at her. “Yes, human?” he said in heavily accented Common.

Amanda was distantly aware of Hannah cursing and clambering out of her seat behind her, but she paid it little mind, anger crackling through her veins. “I wanted to see who was talking shit about me and my friend,” she replied, voice surprisingly steady for all that her heart was pounding in her chest as her body readied for a fight. “Shame that I was right…all I see are two little _gwinig_ whose heads are empty.”

The two did not apparently appreciate being called babies, for they both scowled and stood, and she smirked at how they were about as tall as she was and noticeably more slender. Now, she knew that pound-for-pound, elves were stronger than humans, but they also couldn’t take hits as good as humans. Plus, she had been through a lot and she knew her own skill. She was confident that she could take these two on if it came to blows.

But before it could come to that, Hannah was quite literally reaching up and grabbing Amanda’s ear before she was yanking. It took Amanda so completely by surprise that she merely yelped as Hannah continued pulling, leading her towards the stairs in the back of the room. Apparently the room at large hadn’t expected it either, as there was a shocked pause before raucous laughter and jeering yells filled the air in a mixture of common and elvish. It was hard to catch everything in the sudden din, but Amanda knew she heard more than a few insults that likened her to a naughty dog about to be punished…only the words that they used were not so polite as that.

Once they reached the stairs, Hannah gave a particularly sharp tug, and Amanda hissed as she stumbled forward, only for Hannah to shove insistently against her back. “ _Move,_ ” she ordered in a fell voice, and any protest that Amanda might have had died on her lips as she realized that this was the absolute angriest that she had seen Hannah. So she wordlessly climbed the stairs, Hannah just behind her, the jeers following them up the stairs. Hannah took the key that the innkeeper had given her and glanced at it for the room number before fairly stomping down the hall to a room at the very end. She unlocked the door and fairly threw it open, pointing into it imperiously. Amanda sighed heavily, jamming her hands into her pockets before making her way to the room, but the second she stepped through the door, she froze, eyes widening in shocked outrage.

The room was scarcely larger than a closet with only a single bed within it, and the only amenity that the room seemed to offer being the light crystal that glowed a pale yellow in a sconce next to the bed. While there only being one bed was annoying and a blatant insult in and of itself, she would have grit her teeth and dealt with it. She had slept in far worse places than on the floor of a cheapside inn. Except there was a problem…this damn room was so small that there was literally not enough room to lay anywhere except on the bed. Snarling, she spun around, only for Hannah to throw up her arm, palm slamming against the doorjamb as she barred the way. “If you go down those stairs, you aren’t coming back!” she snapped.

“Why, because you’ll lock me out of the room?” Amanda sneered.

“No, because they’ll be throwing your body into the street,” Hannah replied, voice dead serious. “Hopefully only unconscious and not dead.”

Amanda scoffed, petulantly looking to the side. “I could have taken those two.”

“Sure. But what about the three behind you? Or the other two to the side? Or the innkeeper and the guards once they showed up to deal with the uppity adventurer? How many could you take before they got you?” Hannah shot back. “Now. Get…in…the…room.”

Amanda hesitated for just a moment longer before she growled under her breath and fully stepped into the room, skirting around the edge of the bed to the far side. “There, I’m in, are ya happy?”

“No,” Hannah snapped as she entered the room as well, slamming the door shut behind her as Elenath fluttered over to the headboard, perching on it as her beady eyes flitted between Hannah and Amanda. “I _told_ you not to start anything!”

“Hey, I didn’t start shit, they’re the ones who started it!” Amanda snarled. “So excuse me for actually responding in your defense!”

Hannah gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Oh, _please_. Spare me your self-serving heroics, adventurer!”

“Self-serving? The hell is that supposed to mean? I’m not getting anything for putting those smug pricks in their place!”

“Bullshit, you get the satisfaction of being the _good guy_ , the hero who saved poor little old me!” Hannah snarled back at Amanda, her face a bitter mask. “You’ll go on your merry way, your good deed accomplished, and where does that leave me? You get to be the hero for a brief moment, but I’ll have to deal with the aftermath of your temper tantrum for decades to come!”

Those words had Amanda spluttering for a second, but she couldn’t deny the truth behind them. As much as she hated to admit it, Hannah had an excellent point. But she couldn’t very well just give up now. So she tried to switch to a different angle. “But it’s not right, what they’re doing to you! You don’t deserve to be treated like that!”

“That’s been my _whole life_ , dammit! You don’t have to tell me twice, not when that’s all I’ve known since...since my father died...”

A heavy silence followed Hannah’s tortured words, both of them staring at each other for a long moment before Hannah seemed to deflate, to become _less_. “I’m going to bed,” she muttered, her gaze dropping to the side.

Amanda winced at the defeated tone in Hannah’s voice, and her arm slowly rose, hand reaching out. “Hannah, I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“ _Don’t_.”

And there was the venom again. She sighed with frustration as she ran her hand through her unruly hair. Fine, if Hannah didn’t want to hear her apology, then that was no skin of her nose. That icy silence remained as they both began to get ready for sleep, stripping down to their clothes before Hannah climbed into the small bed. Amanda paused for a moment, staring down at her, uncertain if she still should…

Hannah grimaced, scooting over to the edge before rolling so that her back faced Amanda. “Get in,” she muttered dully. “Gods know that if you try to sleep sitting on the floor you’ll bitch all day tomorrow about being stiff.”

Figuring that that statement probably didn’t warrant a response (at least in the interest of not starting another fight) Amanda instead climbed into the small bed with a scowl, slipping under the blanket and shifting around so that she was facing away from Hannah as far over on her side as she could be. That really wasn’t saying much, as the bed was so small that Hannah’s back was still pressed against hers, stiff and tense. There was a pause, and then the bed shifted as Hannah reached an arm out, passing it over the light crystal, and the room was bathed in darkness. Amanda lay there, eyes still open as she listened to the two of them breathing and Elenath shifting slightly, feathers rustling in the darkness.

Hannah had a point. Elves had long, long memories, and whatever Amanda did while Hannah was escorting her would be remembered by the denizens of the kingdom probably long after Amanda died, even if it was from old age. Hannah was already facing scorn and terrible pay for jobs…had Amanda’s actions already made a terrible situation even worse? Would her insults towards the wine lady and the two assholes in the inn make Hannah’s life harder than it already was?

The thought didn’t sit well with Amanda. It took her a long time to fall asleep, and when she did, she was lost in the oblivion of slumber, no dreams intruding upon her sleep.

When she came awake, it was slowly, a lethargic feeling of peace weighing her down, goading her to resist her return to the waking hours. The first thing she grew aware of was the warmth against her torso and legs. Then it was the smell of rich earth and of golden sunlight on an oak’s green crown, the scent of warm, living things. Then she felt the silken hair against her arms and the warm breath that kissed against her upper chest. Wait...

Her eyes snapped open and she looked down to find that at some point during the night, they had gone from facing away from each other to Hannah curling up in her arms, their legs tangled together under the bed’s blankets. Hannah was tucked up under her chin, her form slight and willowy against Amanda’s larger human bulk, and Amanda couldn’t help but feel that this was the most vulnerable she had seen Hannah, curled up in her sleeping embrace, seeking comfort and protection in her arms.

Amanda’s heart skipped a beat, her mouth running dry.

Hannah shifted, yawned, and then stretched, her body shifting against Amanda’s, skin rubbing against skin, and she froze, hazel eyes flaring open to stare into Amanda’s eyes with something approaching horror.

One thing was for certain. If there was anyone still asleep in the inn, Amanda and Hannah’s screams most certainly served to wake them up…


	3. An Act of Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their less than ideal wake-up, Amanda and Hannah continue their journey across the kingdom, and Amanda learns a little bit more about Hannah. Then Hannah hears someone crying well off the road, and Amanda...well, she was an adventurer, and adventurers helped people! Despite the delay that it might result in, she convinces Hannah to help whoever is crying, and they set off on a little adventure.

An Act of Kindness

“I said I was sorry!” Amanda groaned as they made their way down the stairs, but her words might as well not existed. Hannah’s stride didn’t falter, nor did she turn her head. “And hey, in my defense, I fell asleep facing away from you,” she continued as the entered the common area. “ _You_ were curled up in _my_ arms like a cat, not the other way around!”

What conversations were being held in the common room grew silent and the people seated at the tables eating breakfast turned to stare at the two of them, the humans and dwarves and halflings giving them smarmy grins and leers. The elves? Their expressions were closer to outright disgust.

Elenath cawed indignantly as Hannah whirled around, her teeth bared and eyes narrowed in a scowl, her cheeks a bright red. “Will you just shut up?! We can talk about this on the road!” Then she was stomping forward again, leaving Amanda to look longingly at the food that the other guests were eating, her stomach rumbling.

“What, no breakfast?” she asked. Sure this place was straight garbage, but she was still hungry.

Hannah didn’t reply, instead heading out the front door, and Amanda huffed with annoyance as she followed after, her stomach grumbling again. Thankfully Hannah was waiting for her just out the door, a frown still marring her face as she fed a morsel to Elenath. “We can get food from one of the street vendors along the main street,” she said curtly. “And you’re right, part of the fault lies with me. I…I did curl up against you while we were asleep.” Then her frown deepened. “But you didn’t have to announce it to the entire damned inn!”

Amanda had the good grace to feel bad about that, and she winced sheepishly. “Yeah, fair point. Sorry about that.”

Hannah stared at her for a moment before she huffed, turning back around and heading down the street, Amanda following after. It didn’t take them long to reach the much busier main street, and they took a few minutes to replenish their supplies. While Hannah was haggling with a vendor for a pound of nuts, Amanda checked to make sure that no one was watching her before she nonchalantly sauntered past a merchant who was arguing with one of his employees. Her hand flashed out, almost quicker than could be noticed, and then she was continuing on at the same pace, following her nose as her stomach grumbled again, this time in anticipation. Hannah had been right, there were vendors selling hot food that one could eat on the go, and soon they were leaving the town, Amanda happily munching on a stick of sweet bread knots drizzled in honey as they walked. In between two knots, she glanced curiously over at Hannah. “So, this is the third day…how much longer we got?”

“A week,” Hannah replied as she skirted around a particularly large pile of dung in the road. “If we could travel in a straight line and make twenty miles a day, it would take only five or six days. But the roads don’t go in a straight line and if you tried to cut across the forest, it would be really bad for you.”

Amanda grimaced. “A week, huh? Damn.”

“What, you want to be rid of me?” Hannah asked, her voice snide.

“Well, no…” Amanda said, the thought of no longer having Hannah around hitting her for the first time. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, actually. “I want to get out of this wretched kingdom. We’ve been here three days and we’ve yet to meet one elf who isn’t a judgmental ass.”

Hannah looked at her for a moment before looking ahead, her mouth set in a thin line. “Well, I can’t blame you for thinking that. I mean, you pretty much hit my feelings square on the head.”

Amanda glanced over at her. “Oh?”

“Why do you think I chose to be a Druid? Out there, in the wilds, there’s no one to judge me. No humans treating me with suspicion because all they see is an elf, no elves to call me a half-breed...just the plants and the animals and the wind and the earth. For all its dangers, at least there is peace for one such as I out there beyond the map’s edge.”

Amanda took that in for a moment. “So why do you keep coming back here?” she asked quietly.

Hannah didn’t say anything for a long time, and Amanda realized that she might have, once again, said something that she shouldn’t have. But then, right when she was working up the courage to apologize, Hannah took in a deep breath. “Because it’s still home. It’s still the place that my mother called home, the place that my father made a name in and was grudgingly accepted in despite being a human.” Then her mouth thinned. “And besides, if I run away, then that means that they won, and that I lost, that they managed to chase me off, and I won’t give them the damn satisfaction.”

“Ah, so it’s spite that keeps you here,” Amanda said before giving a crooked grin. “I can respect that.”

“I’m so glad I have your approval,” Hannah said in a dry voice as Elenath cawed loudly, almost like she was mocking Amanda.

“So glad to give it to you,” Amanda returned, her grin growing, prompting an eye roll from Hannah. Once again, the comfortable silence that they had enjoyed yesterday returned, much to Amanda’s relief. She didn’t really enjoy when things were really tense between the two of them…if nothing else, it made the miles go faster. As she walked, though, her mind couldn’t help but going back to their wakeup.

Now, it was important to note that this was hardly the first time that she had had to share a bed or a sleeping roll with someone…Cons got cold and liked to cuddle up with her or Jas, especially when they were adventuring in the winter or up in the mountains. Then there was the time that Akko fell into the icy river and needed someone to help get her warm so she didn’t die from hypothermia. And then, when she was still in training, the dorms were incredibly cramped and she even shared sleeping spots with people that she wasn’t even all that fond of. Not one of those times had her feeling like this.

Now that they were walking and her mind could more freely wander, it kept going back to waking up with Hannah in her arms. Her scent, her warmth, the feeling of her skin and hair against Amanda’s body…but maybe more than those things was the fact that Hannah had looked so vulnerable. Not just vulnerable, but instinctively trying to find security in Amanda’s sleeping embrace instead of trying to get as far from her as possible. The thought was doing things to Amanda’s gut, and she wasn’t sure how to interpret it all. It was obvious that Hannah was fiery and she was more than capable of standing up for herself or trading barbs when needed, but she had still sought comfort in Amanda’s arms. And if Amanda was being honest with herself…she liked that. A lot.

Not that Hannah needed protection, but that she had gone to Amanda for it. Again, Amanda recalled the feeling of Hannah in her arms, and her palms itched as she realized that she’d actually really like to feel that again. Not that it would ever happen, not with the trader’s token she lifted from that merchant earlier. They’d be able to stay at a nice inn the next town with it, and that very likely meant far better accommodations. Strange how that actually made her feel a little sad. But then, it really wasn’t like she could just ask Hannah if she wanted to sleep in the same bed again. There was no way she’d say yes, especially with how embarrassed she was this morning. Though, perhaps it was for the best…let this just be a one-time thing. At the very least, that would make their inevitable separation easier to bear.

Those thoughts and others like it kept Amanda distracted for hours, and their lunch was quiet and brief before they pushed on. It was perhaps an hour after lunch when Amanda blinked, broken out of her thoughts as she realized that Hannah had stopped just in front of her, her head tilted slightly to the side. Quirking a brow, Amanda walked up to her side to see that Hannah was frowning thoughtfully, the other travelers around them grumbling as they moved around the two of them. “What’s wrong?” Amanda asked.

“…someone’s crying,” Hannah replied before turning to the right, facing south. “That way.”

Amanda tilted her head as well, but couldn’t hear anything over the sound of the wagons and carts and draft animals and the conversations all around them. “Think we should check it out?” she asked, a grin breaking out on her face at the thought of a possible quest.

Hannah didn’t look so sure, however. “It’ll delay us,” she warned. “How long is your party going to wait for you?”

“As long as I need them to. Wouldn’t be the longest we’ve had to wait for an errant party member. Come on, let’s go see what’s wrong. Someone might need help.” The more that she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. This could be right up her alley! Brave adventurer does a good deed within this kingdom, and then they’d have at least one person who would be grateful for Hannah and Amanda’s help. This could be Amanda’s chance to make up for all the bridges she’d already burned for Hannah.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hannah sighed. “Alright, fine, let’s go. Just don’t stray too far from me. I wasn’t joking when I said that straying into the woods without permission is a really bad idea.”

Amanda grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll stick to your side like glue!”

Hannah blinked at that before glancing away, the rosy band across her nose and cheeks darkening slightly, and Amanda could swear that Elenath looked as smug as a crow could look. “Whatever. Follow me.” The three of them set off into the thick forest, and the sound from the busy roadway slowly faded behind them, and as each minute wore on, Amanda couldn’t help but be impressed at Hannah’s hearing. They walked for a good five minutes before Amanda first started to hear the faint cries in the distance.

“You heard that from the road?” she asked, panting slightly as she hopped over a fallen tree. The forest here was much more rugged than it was at the outskirts of the woods, and it was a challenge for her to keep up with Hannah, who didn’t even seem out of breath as she glided along, Elenath perched comfortably on her shoulder, completely undisturbed by her mistress’s movement.

“Part of being a Druid is paying attention to the most minute of changes in your environment. It’s less that I heard the cry and more that I noticed the disturbance in the pattern of the forest that the cry was causing.”

“Huh. Neat.”

Hannah gave an amused huff, Elenath shifting on her shoulder as those beady eyes stared at Amanda. “Yes, that is a perfectly apt description for an ability that I have been developing quite a few years. _Neat_.” She quirked a brow back at Amanda. “I thought adventurers were supposed to be fit, what’s wrong with you?”

Amanda frowned at that, hating the fact that she was breathing as deeply as she was. “Okay, you woke up in my arms this morning, you know perfectly well how _fit_ I am.” She ducked under a low hanging branch, missing the bright blush that touched Hannah’s cheeks as she did so. “And you’re using like…weird elf magic or some shit, anyone else would be breathing harder from this.” She skirted around a particularly nasty looking thorn bush before pausing, looking around her with her hands on her hips. They couldn’t be all that far from the road, but she had absolutely no idea what direction it lay in, what with how meandering their path had been. “I can see what you mean when you said that getting separated from you would be a bad thing.” She grimaced before pointing back in the direction that she _thought_ the road was. “Is the road back there?”

Hannah stared at her for a second before smirking, pointing off to their right, most certainly not the direction that Amanda had suggested. “That way. Now, come on, we’re wasting time with your prattling. Have you caught your breath yet?”

Amanda scowled at the teasing tone. “I’ll show you catching your breath,” she muttered darkly before following after Hannah once more. Thankfully, it didn’t take much longer, though it was rather uncanny when it happened. It seemed almost as though a switch were thrown, as Amanda would swear that the forest went from nearly impassable to being almost parklike from one step to the next, and her stride drew up short as she glanced around suspiciously. That happened far too quickly for it to have been natural, especially when the way behind them looked as clear as the forest in front of them. “Bloody elves,” she growled. “Have to be show offs, huh?”

“Imagine living here,” Hannah said dryly, Elenath giving a short caw that somehow matched Hannah’s tone of voice perfectly before Hannah was continuing onward. It wasn’t long before they found the source of the crying: an elf-child sitting in a small clearing, face buried in hands and shoulders shaking with sobs, hair gleaming gold in the dappled sunlight streaming through the trees.

If nothing else, the sight had Amanda pausing once more, her sense of unease rapidly growing, and her skin prickled as she stared at the elf-child. “Right, so I’ve encountered things like this before, are we sure that’s not like, a face-eating monster?”

Hannah scoffed, absently reaching out to smack Amanda’s arm with the back of her hand before she strode into the clearing. Grimacing, Amanda rubbed her arm as she followed after…Hannah was stronger than she looked, wasn’t she? Not a bad thing, though. Amanda liked strong-

She blinked, blushing as she nervously glanced at where Hannah was crouching and resting a comforting hand on the other elf’s back, crooning softly in elvish. Now that? That was a dangerous thought. She took a deep breath as she approached the other two. _Keep it together, Amanda. Won’t be long until we’ll part ways. Don’t forget that._

The elf child looked up at her approach, only to flinch back, trying to hide behind Hannah, and Amanda gave her crooked grin, sinking down to her knees in front of the…girl? She was fairly certain the elf child was a girl. It was hard to tell with elves. “Hi,” she said softly. “My friend here heard you crying, and so we came to help. What’s wrong?”

Big blue eyes that were shining with still unshed tears glanced quickly at Hannah, who gave a very slight nod. “M-my familiar, he ran away and he’s not c-coming back!” she cried in a flute-like voice, and Amanda shot Hannah a confused look. She didn’t know much about magic users and their familiars, as that wasn’t quite her specialty, but she was fairly certain that familiars were inextricably linked to the one who summoned them. Even if this familiar ran off, the girl should know where it was, right?

Hannah gave her a speaking look over the girl’s head. _Her pet_ , she mouthed silently, and Amanda blinked as it all clicked into place. Ah, okay. That made much more sense. The girl was likely a potential wizard or sorcerer, and was trying to emulate her teachers by having a familiar rather than a pet.

“Well, that won’t do!” she said with a determined nod. “Gods know that you need your familiar back, safe and sound, little miss…?” she asked leadingly.

“Eirien,” the girl said shyly, and Amanda grinned brightly. Oh, she actually knew that one, Diana taught her that word!

“Oh, like the daisy!” she beamed, and the little girl gave a timid little smile. “Well, that is a pretty name that I think fits you perfectly. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you, Eirien, and guess what? You’re in luck! I’m a skilled adventurer who doesn’t believe in any job being too small, and Hannah here is one of the most skilled Druids within the kingdom. We’ll find your familiar in no time at all!”

Eirien looked a bit confused at that, turning back to Hannah and speaking in elvish, and Amanda only caught about every fifth word, save for one that stood out. A name: Hanariel. She noticed how Hannah stiffened slightly at it, at how Hannah glanced at her with eyes that could almost be afraid, and so Amanda kept her face carefully blank and slightly confused. She had no idea why Hannah wouldn’t tell Amanda her Elvish name, but she’d respect that decision.

Hannah hesitated slightly before speaking, her face troubled. “Amanda here knows me as Hannah, Eirien.”

Eirien looked confused at that, and then the confused morphed into discomfort. “The elders say that I shouldn’t trust adventurers or humans, and to stay away from _peredhil_. I’m sorry.”

It took Amanda considerable self-control to not say something that she’d regret at that, but the way that Eirien flinched and leaned away from her, she must have noticed Amanda’s anger, and Amanda took in a deep, steadying breath. “Oh, Eirien, I’m sorry,” she said soothingly with an apologetic grin. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just…” she started before sighing, sitting back on her rear and crossing her legs under her as she gathered her thoughts. How to put this? “It’s just that I think your elders are being a bit foolish to say that sort of thing. While it’s important to not trust strangers of any sort, especially not strangers that look as spooky as me!” she said with a laugh, “It’s also important to judge individuals by their actions and not their race or appearance.” She paused, looking around. “For example, do you think that your guards and even your forest itself would have let me get this far into your kingdom without stopping me?”

Eirien thought that one over for a second before shaking her head, blue eyes wide and gold hair swishing at her back. Amanda glanced at Hannah, who was staring at her with a surprised expression. “And take Hannah. She helped me out when I needed it. I don’t think anyone else would have done what she did for me, and because of that, I am deeply in her debt. You see, I’m far away from my friends. You have friends, right?”

Eirien nodded, now leaning slightly forward, her face open as she listened to Amanda talk.

“Well, my friends are alllll the way on the other side of the kingdom, and I would have to walk for _ever_ if I had to go around. I asked Hannah for help, and she would have been perfectly right to say no, but she didn’t. She helped me. And you know what? I think that that’s really amazing. She was willing to help an icky human adventurer like me, yeah?” she smiled, and Eirien giggled at the joking tone. “You know what else? I think that being willing to help anyone, no matter their circumstance or what they look like, is one of the best things that you can do. It’s why I’m going to help you find your familiar. You need help, and here Hannah and I am! We’ll do everything we can to help, okay?”

Eirien’s tears were long gone, and she quickly stood up, her face hopeful. “Thank you so much!”

Hannah was still staring at Amanda, an odd look on her face before she tore her gaze away from Amanda, looking down at Eirien. “So, what is your familiar?”

“A stoat!” Eirien claimed with all the pride that a little girl could muster, which is to say, a considerable amount thereof. “His name is Celeb!”

Hannah laughed at that, and Amanda could understand why. Celeb meant silver, and with a white coat in winter and undoubtedly being as quick as silver, the name truly fit. “That’s a good name. Do you have anything of his?” she asked, and Eirien nodded before reaching into a small sack at her side and producing what looked like a toy made of leather, feathers, and a bell. “Excellent, that’ll help a lot,” she smiled before stepping back, her face growing serious. Then, before their eyes, she turned into a wolf, fur rippling out over tanned skin, hiding her tattoos away as she dropped onto all fours. Elenath cawed indignantly as she was forced to fly off, but Amanda paid the crow no mind, too fascinated with watching Hannah’s transformation. The magic merged her equipment into her new form, her clothing and weapons disappearing away as the transformation completed.

Amanda couldn’t help but be a little impressed by that. The party didn’t have a Druid and she had never worked with one before, so seeing the Wildshape transformation up close was fascinating. For her part, Eirien’s eyes were as wide as they could possibly be, and she stared at Hannah as she slowly stepped closer, ears swiveled toward the girl. Once she drew close enough, Hannah leaned carefully forward, nose mere inches from the toy before she took in several deep breaths, eyes closed in concentration. Then she was stepping back and then moving in a broad circle around the edge of the clearing, nose to the ground, snuffling as she tried to find Celeb’s scent, Elenath cawing from the branches of the tree she had flown to.

Then Hannah froze, nose almost stuck to the ground before her head lifted, looking back at Amanda and Eirien, the message in her hazel eyes clear: _follow me_. “Well, looks like she has something,” Amanda said with a gentle smile, and she stood, offering her hand to Eirien. “You ready to find Celeb?”

The four of them set off, Hannah leading the way, Elenath above her, flying from tree to tree, and Amanda and Eirien followed after. As they went, Amanda made sure to entertain Eirien from some of the more light-hearted and humorous stories from her past adventures, and for every one that had her seem a bit foolish, there was one where she saved the day. The more that she could convince Eirien that not all humans or adventurers were bad, the more that Eirien could hopefully resist some of the prejudices of the other elves in this damn kingdom. One thing she noticed was how Hannah kept glancing back at them as they moved through the forest, her wolfish face thoughtful, and Amanda couldn’t help but wonder about those frequent glances and what they might mean.

Thankfully, Hannah saw fit to prove Amanda’s words about her true: it didn’t take her too terribly long to lead them to a dead tree. She circled once around the tree, nose to the ground before she returned to Amanda and Eirien, looking up at the branches of the tree. Huffing with what Amanda presumed was satisfaction, she transformed back, and Amanda felt herself blushing and looking away. She hadn’t expected the sight of the fur rolling away and Hannah standing up, stretching with her arms over her head and a pleased smile on her face to hit her quite this hard. “So, uh…this is the tree, huh?” she asked, making a show up looking up at the thing, hoping that Hannah wouldn’t notice the blush on her face.

“Hang on, I’ll confirm,” Hannah said before whistling sharply. Elenath cawed in response before flying over to the largest hole well up on the side of the tree. She perched at the lip, sticking her head into the tree before fairly exploding backwards, cawing indignantly even as the sounds of a truly irate animal sounded from within the hole. “Well, I think that answers your question,” Hannah quipped. “Now the question is how are we going to get him down? I can transform again, but only once more before I have to sleep to be able do it again.”

Amanda stepped closer to the tree, stroking the scar running down her jaw thoughtfully. “Nah, I think I got this.”

Hannah snorted. “Really? You’re going to climb a tree and wrangle a stoat that still sounds absolutely furious?”

Amanda grinned at her before glancing to Eirien, who was looking terribly concerned about the noises that were still pouring out from the hole in the tree. “Of course I am. After all, I said I’d help, right?” She stepped closer to the tree, rolling back the sleeves of her jacket, exposing her muscled forearms, and she flexed her hands and fingers as she circled the tree. “Plus, there’s something you don’t know about me,” she said with a cocky grin. “Hannah, I dedicate this awesome victory to you.”

The look she got was deadpan. “It’s only a victory if you get Celeb back down without hurting him. I’ll consider it a bonus if you aren’t hurt either. Hell, I’ll be impressed if you manage to get up there without falling.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “I am touched by your overwhelming confidence in my abilities.” Ah, okay. She’d start there. “Here I go.”

See, the thing that Hannah didn’t know about her was that Amanda? Amanda could _climb_. She was one of the best climbers in her guild class, and she cut her teeth as a rogue doing, ah, second and third story work, to put it lightly. Trees were a bit different than buildings, sure, but she had enough experience climbing that she could go _up_ as quickly as she could go out, and this tree had enough handholds in its bark that it didn’t present a challenge. If she was feeling a bit cockier about it, she’d look down at Hannah and Eirien and make a quip, but had the feeling that pride would certainly goeth before that fall. Better to amaze them with her skill and boast about it once she was back on the ground, anyhow.

It is specifically because she didn’t look back down that she missed how Hannah’s eyes flitted down to the seat of her pants as she used her legs as much as her feet to climb, only for them to widen as a blush touched Hannah’s tanned face before she very studiously looked anywhere other than at Amanda as she continued to climb.

It take her less than ten seconds to go up the forty feet to the hole in the tree, and sure enough, there was an incredibly irate stoat within, his beady red eyes flashing red as he growled and chattered at her as he pressed his body as far back in the hole as he could. She hooked her leg over the branch just below the hole, bracing her other foot against the trunk, her left hand wrapping around the back of the tree, steadying herself as she looked into the hole. “You’re scared, aren’t you, little guy?” she asked softly, and he stopped his growling, though he was still definitely looking at her with quite a bit of suspicion. “You’re scared and you miss Eirien, don’t you?” She glanced down to the forest floor well below her, where Hannah and Eirien were looking up at her. “Well, the good thing is she’s just down there, waiting for you.”

She reached into the pouch at her hip, pulling out some of her jerky. A bit salty for a stoat to live off of, but a little treat to coax him out. She tore off a piece and tossed it into the hole, and Celeb paused for a minute before slinking forward, tentatively sniffing the offering. Then he made a pleased little noise in the back of his throat and ate it. Grinning, Amanda tore off another piece, placing it closer to the edge. Celeb’s hesitation was shorter this time before eating the strip of meat, and Amanda’s grin grew wider. The third piece she kept in her hand, and Celeb looked up at her for a moment before moving forward, taking the piece of jerky from between her fingers, and she hummed softly, opening her hand welcomingly. “You ready to get back to Eirien?”

Celeb stared up her for a moment before he scrambled up her arm, settling on her shoulders, fur soft against the back of her neck. Then it was the simple matter of sliding down the tree and rejoining the others on the forest floor. Celeb chattered excitedly before fairly launching himself off of Amanda’s shoulder, and he circled tightly around Eirien’s feet before clambering up her body, settling around her neck, looking absolutely pleased as she giggled with delight. Amanda grinned cheekily at Hannah. “Like I said, babe, this victory is dedicated to you.”

Hannah’s cheeks darkened slightly before she looked to the side with a huff. “Babe?” she asked flatly, and Amanda blinked before blushing.

“Oh, crap, I didn’t mean…I was just excited because I got Celeb down without a problem, y’know?”

Now Hannah was looking at her again, and was that a slight flash of hurt underneath the annoyed frown? “So it means nothing?”

“What? No. No, I didn’t say that! It’s just…look, I was happy I got Eirien her pe…er, her _familiar_. I’m sorry if calling you babe upset you, it won’t happen again.”

Hannah looked a bit shocked at that. “Wait…” she started, her hand raising, but Amanda was already turning away, and she shrugged with an apologetic smile as she glanced at Hannah over her shoulder.

“I was out of line, sorry.” Then she walked over to where Eirien was cuddling with Celeb. “Hey, see? I told you we could get him, no problem!”

Eirien beamed up at her. “Thank you two so much!” she chirped. “I was so worried I’d never see Celeb again!”

Amanda chuckled. “Well, like I said, it’s what we’re here for.” She looked up, glancing through the trees around them. “Do you know how to get home from here?”

Eirien looked around as well, frowning thoughtfully. “I…think so?” she said slowly before looking up at Amanda with big, pleading eyes. “Can you two make sure I get home safely?”

Hannah walked up to the two of them, frowning up at the sky that was only just visible through the treetops. “It’s starting to get late,” she said.

“You would be well come into my house!” Eirien said, now clasping her hands in front of her. “Please? We can give you dinner and a place to stay before you continue on your quest. It’s the least we can do for you!”

Amanda glanced at Hannah with a quirked brow, and Hannah sighed with an annoyed frown. “I don’t think we’d be able to make it to the next trading town tonight if we got back to the road.” The frown almost turned into a scowl as she looked down at Eirien. “Are you sure that your parents will welcome us into their house? An adventurer and a _peredhel_?”

Eirien nodded gravely. “Yes, they will.”

Hannah didn’t look entirely convinced by that, but lifted an arm anyway. “Fine then, lead the way.”


	4. Hospitality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After helping Eirien recover her familiar, the young elven girl has insisted that they spend their night at her parents' house rather than have to spend the night out in the open. Hannah feels some trepidation about that, as she is well versed in Elven hospitality, but she agrees to go. What will Hannah and Amanda find waiting for them?

Hospitality

The trip that led them south and east took longer than Amanda expected, and the late afternoon had turned into evening and then into dusk by the time that she first caught the first hints of wood smoke on the gentle breeze. By now her feet were sore from all the walking, especially along the meandering deer trails that had been the primary path that they took, and she was hungry and tired. “What were you doing so far from home?” she asked, perhaps a bit sharper than was necessary, but if Eirien noticed, she didn’t show it, instead flashing a bright smile at Amanda, Hannah, and Elenath.

“I was gathering rare herbs for my nana,” she said.

Amanda glanced at Hannah. “Her grandmother? I thought that was just a nickname used by human children.”

Hannah shook her head. “Nana means mother…or rather, ‘mama.’ Naneth would be like the more formal ‘mother,’” she explained.

“Ah.” That’s when the small cottage with merrily lit windows atop of small hill came into view, and Eirien gave a delighted cry as she ran on ahead, Celeb darting around her feet. Amanda and Hannah followed at a more sedate pace, and Amanda frowned worriedly. “You know, I don’t want to judge, but isn’t it a bit weird that her parents were perfectly okay with her just being gone all day, and so far from home?”

Hannah was silent for a moment before she answered. “For all the…prejudices and issues within the kingdom, there is very little crime outside of the trading towns and the main roads where outsiders travel. And don’t forget how difficult the forest was to traverse for you before it decided that you weren’t a threat. Eirien was perfectly safe all day.”

Amanda blinked, and then frowned. “Wait, so that reason you were able to walk so freely while I struggled my ass off was…”

“…because my way was far easier than yours, thanks to the passive defenses and enchantments throughout the forest. The main roads are clear of those protections so that outsiders can come in and trade, but once you stray from those paths?”

“I don’t know if I should be impressed or annoyed,” Amanda said as words of joyous greeting sounded ahead of them. “What happens if I do something stupid after the forest accepts me?”

Hannah gave her a sidelong glance. “Something rather more drastic than making your path difficult. So I beg you, please don’t do anything stupid. Cleaning up the mess is always such a pain.”

Amanda stared at her as they reached the cabin. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not, and that worries me.”

Hannah smirked at that. “And I’ll never tell.”

“Evil,” Amanda muttered.

“Always.”

An elven couple came down from the front door of the cabin, smiles on their faces, which was quite honestly a surprise. Even after their eyes swept over Amanda and focused briefly on Hannah’s ears, the smiles didn’t fade. By the gods, elves that weren’t giant assholes? Say it wasn’t so! But then…compared to the fair skin of most of the elves living here, these two had darker skin, and there was a hint of wildness about them, like they were closer to the chaos of nature than any of the elves she had met yet. Actually…her eyes flicked over to Hannah. They kinda reminded her of Hannah.

The man spoke, his words slow and halting and heavily accented. “Eirien say you help her find Celeb,” he said. The woman then chimed in, speaking in an elvish that even Amanda could tell was of a different accent than the other elves within this kingdom. “My wife Aredhiel gives her thanks for your selfless acts. Please, come, sit, eat, warm yourself by fire.”

Hannah gave a short, fluid bow. “We are thankful for your generosity, Aredhiel and…?”

“I am Aegnor.”

“Aegnor. A pleasure to meet you.”

Amanda tilted her head to the side. “Where are you from?”

Aredhiel and Aegnor rocked back slightly at that, surprised looks on their faces, looks that were quickly replaced by melancholy. “The wilds,” Aegnor replied with a heavy voice. “We live there, happily, until the goblins come. Adventurers save us. We come here where safe, have Eirien.” His face suddenly took on a look of beaming pride. “She has gift for magic! We miss home, but she have opportunity we never had before.”

Hannah smiled. “She seems like a very smart little girl, and she is kind, too…she had no reason to invite us here tonight, but she insisted.”

If anything, that look of pride grew, and he quickly translated the words into elvish, and Aredhiel smiled as well, saying something warm to Eirien, who smiled with a shy blush. “But yes, thank you for saving Celeb. He is full of mischief and like to hide. Now, come, come! Come out of cold and dark. You are well come by my hearth!” Aegnor said with a grin.

Hannah and Amanda thanked him, and Hannah sent Elenath flying off into the darkening skies, and the crow seemed to fly off eagerly, to Amanda’s surprise. Hannah just shrugged and shook her head. “She wants to be alone tonight,” she said by way of answer before the two of them followed Aegnor into the home. The inside of the cabin was cramped, but not uncomfortable for it, but was instead cozy and warm. The hearth sat in the middle of the main room, and there was a loft that looked like it was where the family slept. It seemed as though either Aredhiel or Aegnor was a woodworker, as there was a broad worktable that had carving tools hanging from the wall behind it. Wood shavings littered the table and the floor around the table in tiny curls, the spicy, warm smell of cut wood and sawdust mingling pleasantly with the smell of the food cooking in a pot hanging above the merrily crackling fire in the hearth. There was a small table with chairs around it, and the hearth was surrounded by comfortable rugs and plump cushions.

It did not take Amanda very long to decide that these were her type of people. Warm and welcoming, sharing freely of what they had even though it was obvious that they didn’t have all that much to share. She knew next to nothing about elven society, had no idea what taxes they had to pay or what it meant to be wealthy amongst them, but it was clear that this family was very much down to earth. Aegnor produced a cask of his best ale as well as a bottle of fine wine, and Aredhiel pulled hot, steaming loaves of bread made with acorn flour from a small oven in the corner that Amanda hadn’t even noticed. Conversation was a bit slow, if only because it was obvious that Aegnor struggled with common and Aredhiel didn’t speak it at all, but for all that, stories were still swapped and a merry time was had by all.

Dinner was less a formal meal and more an ongoing event that was held not at the table but around the hearth, where they sat on the thick rugs and cushions, and anyone who wished to have another bowl of the hearty stew or to have another cup of drink was welcome to do so while the conversations continued. Aegnor seemed very interested in some of the stories Amanda had of her past adventures, particularly those that pitted her against goblins and orcs, though the story of how she stole an enchanted goblet from a wizard’s college was a close third. While she was telling her stories, Hannah was speaking more softly with Aredhiel entirely in elvish. At one point Aredhiel cried out, tears streaking down her cheeks as she swept Hannah up in an embrace, much to Hannah’s surprise, if her expression was any indicator. She awkwardly pat Aredhiel on the back and scowled at the grin that Amanda was giving her before Aredhiel was drawing back, holding her by the shoulders as she rattled off in emphatic elvish. Hannah stared at her with wide eyes before she blushed, looking down at the floor with what could only be described as a bittersweet smile. Her answer was soft, and Aredhiel waved it off with a flippant hand, patting Hannah on the shoulder as she turned to look at Amanda with a broad grin. Amanda got the sudden feeling that they were talking about her…

The hours wore on, and well after the stew was eaten and the dishes done, Eirien began to yawn widely from where she was tucked into Aegnor’s side. That seemed to be the signal to turn in for the night, for Aredhiel scooped Eirien up in her arms, heading up the ladder leading to the sleeping loft. Aegnor banked the fire, offering an apologetic smile to Amanda and Hannah. “We have no other place to sleep, is by fire good?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fine,” Amanda answered. “Better than out on the forest floor. We thank you for your hospitality.”

Hannah said something to Aredhiel in elvish, and he placed his hand over his chest, bowing his head with a smile before he, too, retreated up the ladder, joining his family, leaving Amanda and Hannah alone in the now dimly main room. Amanda glanced over the banked fire to see Hannah glancing around the room, an odd look on her face, one that was just guarded enough that Amanda couldn’t quite place it. Then she sighed, giving a small smile. “So, should we get ready for bed?” she asked.

Amanda glanced into the cup of ale she was still holding. The drink had filled her belly with warmth, and she felt relaxed, but not yet tired. “No, not yet,” she murmured, rolling her wrist, the ale sloshing lazily around the cup. “Unless you want to?”

Hannah seemed to contemplate that for a moment before she stood, walking around the fire and sitting down on the floor next to Amanda, close enough that the sides of their arms and legs brushed together. Not meeting Amanda’s questioning gaze, she instead looked to the side, her face darkening with a blush. “We won’t be as loud talking if we’re next to each other,” she said softly. But then she didn’t say anything for a while, the only sound the muted cracks and pops of the fire and the murmur of voices up in the loft as Aredhiel and Aegnor spoke quietly.

Eh, if Hannah didn’t want to talk, that was no skin off Amanda’s nose. She took another drink from her cup, leaning back against the wall near the hearth, relaxing as she looked around the dark cabin, taking in some of the details that she hadn’t had the time to really appreciate earlier. The small wooden statues on the work table seemed almost alive with how the shadows from the fire danced over them, and she stared at them for a moment before her gaze moved on. There seemed to be almost countless things that showed the love that resided within the cabin, of wildflowers aplenty resting in tall pitchers, and of a crude carving of what she thought might be Celeb, possibly made by Eirien.

“You ever been so filled with a jealousy so potent it makes you sick?” Hannah suddenly muttered, voice only just loud enough to be heard.

“Uh…”

“I know, not what you were expecting, huh?” Hannah asked, her voice bitter. “And yet, I can’t help but look around at this happy family and want what they have so badly that it _hurts_. But at the same time, I am happy for them. I’m happy for their happiness, and I want them to stay happy, that Eirien knows the joy of having loving parents for centuries to come. I want her to have what I haven’t had since my father died.” She groaned. “Gods, I bet you think that it’s fucked up, don’t you? That I’m so jealous of them and-”

Hannah’s words came to an abrupt halt as Amanda threw her arm over Hannah’s shoulders, pulling her closer, tucking her into her side. “No,” she said sharply. “I think you can be one hell of a bitch and your bedside manner needs a hell of a lot of work, but I don’t think it’s fucked up that you want the happiness that the assholes of this realm have denied you. You deserve to be happy, just like anyone else.”

Hannah looked up at her, eyes wide and glimmering in the low light of embers in the hearth. It took Amanda a moment to realize just how close their faces were, and her eyes flicked down at Hannah’s full lips. If she just leaned forward, they’d…

She blinked, her face heating at the thought, and she forced herself to look away from Hannah, staring into the glowing embers. Where the hell had that thought come from? Dangerous thoughts, dangerous thoughts! Should she remove her arm from Hannah’s shoulders? Had she gone too far, exceeded boundaries?

But then Hannah shifted slightly, hesitated, and then moved again, resting her head against Amanda’s shoulder. “But, for all my jealousy, it’s people like this that keep me here, that remind me that there are things worth staying here for, that there are good people still,” she whispered. “Them and my friend. If it weren’t for them, I’d have left and never looked back.”

Amanda hummed softly, her hand rubbing up and down Hannah’s arm comfortingly, but for perhaps the first time in her life, she realized that she really should just keep her mouth shut. This was Hannah’s moment…but did she have to be so warm and soft against Amanda’s side? This would just make it that much harder for her to leave Hannah.

Then Hannah continued on, her voice even softer, sounding drowsy now. “I…didn’t mind it when you called me babe. I just…didn’t expect it.” A long pause. “I don’t think anyone’s called me that before.” She grew silent once more, and her breathing grew deep and slow. For a minute, Amanda thought that she had fallen asleep, but then came Hannah’s soft, slurred voice once more, and it was clear that she was moments away from falling asleep. “I’m glad…that I decided…to help you.”

Amanda didn’t answer, staying silent until Hannah grew completely relaxed against her as she fell asleep, snoring softly. She brought her cup to her lips, pausing for a second before shaking her head, draining the last of the ale in her cup with a few gulps. Then she was very carefully getting her wool blanket from her pack next to them, settling it around their bodies. She dropped her head back against the wall, looking up at the thick beams running across the ceiling. “You’re really dangerous, you know that?” she whispered, her arm drawing Hannah closer to her, squeezing her lightly, and Hannah murmured in her sleep before snuggling slightly into her side. “I think I’m actually starting to really like you…”

It took her a while to fall asleep, and before she did, she realized that she was going to wake up with one hell of a stiff neck. But she couldn’t bring herself to disturb Hannah. The last thing she remembered was her head falling to rest on top of Hannah’s, her hair soft against her cheek. Once more, the smells of rich earth, of golden sunlight on an oak’s green crown, and of living things teased her senses before she slipped away into slumber.

…yeah, it was going to be so much harder to leave Hannah than she’d like.


	5. In Each Other's Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they wake up the next morning in each other's arms, Hannah and Amanda quietly get ready for the day's journey, not mentioning what it might mean that they slept holding one another once more. Some things are safer _not_ to mention, after all.
> 
> When they get to the next trading village, Amanda finally puts the trader's token that she stole earlier in the week to good use, securing them a room in the main inn, which offers much better amenities than the last inn they stayed at...to include a bathhouse. The two of them take the opportunity to get clean, as well as to learn more about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Nudity
> 
> I also want to assure you that while the 'elven style' of bath is inspired by the Japanese system, the elves in this story are in no ways meant to be 'Japanese.' They are not meant to be making a statement about any one particular culture or any culture's failings.

In Each Other’s Arms

They woke early the next morning, still in each other’s arms, but there was no screaming this time. Instead they stared at each other for a moment before they gently separated themselves. Perhaps a bit too conveniently, that was when Aegnor and Aredhiel came down from the sleeping loft, greeting them with warm smiles and soft voices. They prepared a quick breakfast of cold acorn bread with butter and jam and nuts before Hannah and Amanda gave their farewells to the three elves and stepped out into the forest that was still the grey of the predawn hours, shadows laying heavily under the trees. Dew covered the forest floor in a glistening blanket, and the birds were only just now beginning to wake and sing. Amanda jumped slightly as Elenath came fluttering down out of the dim sky to land on Hannah’s shoulder, who acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Elenath gave a couple hoarse caws, and Hannah nodded before setting off. “Road is this way,” she said over her shoulder, and Amanda followed after, shivering slightly in the predawn chill. She glanced over Hannah’s exposed skin and shook her head. How the hell was she not cold? Her eyes roamed over Hannah again, slower this time, and they settled on her exposed lower back, her mind going blissfully blank as she lost herself in the sight of long bands of muscle dancing under pale skin and golden tattoos. She wasn’t sure how long she was staring before she looked up to see Hannah smirking at her over her shoulder. Blushing at how she was caught, she wrenched her gaze away from Hannah and kept her attention on the slowly lightening forest around them even as Hannah snickered.

Thankfully the day passed without major incident. It took them a while to reach the road, and once they did, Hannah set off at a faster pace than they had used yet in order to make up for lost time. Even with the hustle, the sun had well and truly set by the time that the two of them reached the next trading town, and they were both sweaty and covered with the dust from the road. Even poor Elenath was worse for the wear, feathers ruffled and head drooping with exhaustion.

And damn if it didn’t kill Amanda how Hannah’s mood grew more and more subdued the closer they got to the village, a weariness that had nothing to do with the miles they had walked that day weighing down on her. By the time they crossed through the gates, her feet were practically dragging, and she looked like she’d rather be anywhere else. “Please don’t try to start a fight tonight,” she muttered before she began to head down the street, away from the welcoming lights of the large inn that other travelers were heading towards.

Only to stop as Amanda grabbed her wrist. “I don’t know about you,” she said with a crooked grin, “but I sure don’t want to spend the night in another crappy inn. I want to live in style.” With that said, she pulled Hannah in the direction of the main inn, Hannah offering objections along the way. Objections that came to a stuttering halt when Amanda produced the trader’s token she had stolen yesterday. The elf behind the counter gave her a rather long and suspicious look, but offered no objection when he told them he could only give them one room and named the rate, a rate that Amanda was more than happy to cover for both of them. She ignored the protestations of Hannah as she slid the coins across the table, getting a key in return. “So, what do you think?” she asked as they moved away from the counter. “Dinner first, or get cleaned up first? Oop!”

Hannah had grabbed her wrist and was now pulling her into a secluded corner of the large, well-lit dining area that was certainly of a much higher quality than the dining room of the dive that they stayed at two nights ago. Almost shoving Amanda down in a seat, Hannah sat down across from her, rubbing her temples with an irritated look on her face. “Where did you _get_ that?” she hissed.

“A kind merchant made a donation in our favor,” Amanda easily replied. “And so very kind of him to do so, generosity towards a human rogue being so rare in these parts.”

Hannah groaned as she dragged her hands down her face. “You’re going to get us in _so_ much trouble!”

“Only if you rat me out or give away the game,” Amanda teased. “Oh! Speaking of, what’s the name of an official who would issue these? If someone actually bothers to ask, I’d rather have an answer ready than fumble for an answer. You’d be amazed how far confident answers will get you.”

“…Carcharion,” Hannah said after a long moment. “Can we just…can we just eat, please?”

“Gladly!” She lifted a hand, and a younger looking elf (not that that really meant anything) appeared, a look of snooty disdain on her face as she looked down at the two of them. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

“Muttonchops with mashed yaredh roots, salad with a vinaigrette, vegetable soup,” the server sniffed.

“Sounds excellent, I’m starving,” Amanda said brightly. “How about you, does that sound good?”

“Yes, fine, it sounds good,” Hannah said with a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Oh, and ale! Gimme a tankard of ale, please. And, uh…white wine for my friend here.” Seeing the surprised look Hannah shot her, she quirked a brow. “What, did I get it wrong?”

“No, you got it right,” she said before speaking briefly to the server in elvish before the other elf left them. “How did you know?”

Amanda shrugged. “Last night, you scarcely partook of the ale, and instead stuck to the wine and water. It was just a guess on my part.”

Hannah gave her a searching look for a moment before turning her head, peering out the dark window. “A bit more than just a guess, methinks,” she muttered thoughtfully under her breath.

They didn’t say anything else, basking in comfortable silence before their food came, and after eating a cold breakfast and then trail rations for lunch, Amanda found that she was famished. She ate voraciously, any sense of shame that she might have had largely diminished by the fact that Hannah and Elenath seemed just as eager to eat. Less than fifteen minutes after they got their food, they were both done. “I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to pass out,” she said with a happy, sated sigh, only for a different, older server to tsk.

“Tell your human to take a bath first,” he sneered. “Don’t want to have to burn the sheets.” His pale blue eyes swept up and down Hannah’s form. “You could stand to get clean as well, don’t want to be mistaken for one of her kind.”

Amanda waved a flippant hand. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re a bunch of bigoted assholes. We’ve done this song and dance before. Now what’s this about a bath? You guys got a bathhouse?”

They did. Even better, it was separated into two sections, one for men and one for women, and it was unsurprisingly set up in the elven fashion, with an area to wash off before the large bath where one could soak. After they dropped most of their gear and Elenath off in their room (and was that relief or disappointment Amanda felt when she saw that there were two beds in the room?) they headed down to the bathing area. From the sounds on the other side of the wooden divider separating the male and female, it seemed as though the male side was much busier, but that didn’t mean that the women’s side was empty. There was a trio of dwarf women in one corner of the massive bath, four halflings sitting around a low table that had fruits and cheeses on it, and a smattering of humans and elves in various stages of bathing, all of them nude or with towels wrapped around them. Even from a distance, Amanda could tell that these people weren’t adventurers, but traders or nobility or both, their skin smooth and well cared for, devoid of scars or signs of serious hardship. Well…save for the dwarves, but rare was the dwarf that knew not the toil of the mine. And while their bodies showed signs of the hard labor of mining, their beards were impeccably groomed and had baubles of gold and rare gems worked into the intricate braids. These dwarf women knew a great deal of wealth. Quite frankly, it made Amanda’s fingers itch.

Almost as though she could read Amanda’s mind, Hannah swatted lightly at her arm with the back of her hand. “Behave,” she said warningly.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t going to try anything!” she protested. “I’ve been good, and even I’m smarter than that.” They reached the changing area and quickly disrobed, nodding their thanks to the attendant who unobtrusively stepped forward to use minor magic to clean their clothes. “Nice service. I’m betting that we wouldn’t have received such niceties in the other inn.”

“Astute observation,” Hannah said, her head turned to the side and a light blush touching her cheeks. Now was that because of the humid heat of the air inside the bath, or because…? As they sat down to wash off the dust and dirt of the day, Amanda found her gaze wandering, but it didn’t linger anywhere that might get her slapped. Rather, her eyes traced over the gracefully looping golden bands and lines and dots and designs that covered not just her face, hands, and legs, but her entire body, and once more Amanda wondered about the symbolism behind the tattoos. Then Hannah’s voice broke her out of her curious thoughts: “Where’d you get that?”

Amanda blinked, glancing at Hannah’s face to see that her hazel eyes were staring at her upper chest, and she didn’t have to look down to know what had captured her attention. The Scar. “A goblin got lucky,” she said, words short as she began to scrub down her legs, concentrating on the task so that the memory of blood and iron and fire and of tearing, ripping pain down her cheek, neck, and into her chest stayed in the past where it belonged. “It was the only time I’ve ever been downed.”

Hannah hummed thoughtfully as she washed her arms. “It looks like it hurt.”

Amanda smirked, though the expression was rather devoid of humor. “Astute observation.” The Scar didn’t look all that bad while she was wearing a shirt, just a thin line that showed the path of that wicked blade that started on her cheek. It had been a downward slash, and once the blade had cleared her cheek, it had continued on for a few inches before its tip found her flesh again, running down her neck. It was right where it usually became hidden by her hooded jacket that it showed the true colors of how serious a wound it was. No longer a thin line, it became a thick rope of scar tissue that showed how that cleaver had split her clavicle and her top three ribs before it came to a stop just above her right lung. “If we didn’t have a healer, I would have died.”

“The risks of being an adventurer,” Hannah murmured softly. “What happened to the goblin that did it?”

“My friend Jasminka tore it in half with her bare hands.”

That statement earned a wide-eyed stare. “That’s…impressive.”

Amanda shrugged as she washed her shoulders, armpits, and chest, careful not to press too hard over the Scar. “What are friends for?” Rinsing off the suds with a bucket of hot water, she nodded towards Hannah. “Speaking of stuff friends do, if you wash my back, I’ll wash yours.”

The washcloth in Hannah’s hand slowed its path over her sleekly muscled shoulders and arms, and a blush was definitely touching her cheeks as she glanced not at Amanda but at the other guests of the bath. “Friends. Sure.” She reached up, deft fingers undoing the yellow ribbon that held her hair in a ponytail, and her thick auburn hair spilled down her shoulders and upper back. “Let me wash my hair first.” While she did so, Amanda followed suit, glad that her shorter hair took less effort even as she pondered the differences between their bodies. Not only was Hannah’s frame more slender than her own, but a quick glance while she had been undoing her ribbon showed that she didn’t have any armpit hair unlike Amanda’s own vibrant red.

Amanda had also noticed earlier that her legs and arms had only the lightest covering of hair and her pubic hair was much lighter than what Amanda had…and actually had Amanda realizing that she was well overdue for a trim. It was kinda interesting in an academic way, Amanda thought as she covertly glanced at the elves in the bath. Diana had always been very private about her body…Akko was the only person in the party who had any idea what Diana’s body looked like under her clothes, so this was the first time Amanda had ever seen nude elves. If this lot showed how all of them were, they seemed to have less body hair than even Hannah had. Interesting, Amanda mused as she rinsed off the last of the suds from her body. She wondered why that was. Especially when compared to the dwarves, she thought with a small smirk as she glanced at the trio still in the bath.

“Ready.” The voice was soft, almost timid, and Amanda looked over at Hannah as she pulled the thick strands of her now wet hair over her shoulder, exposing her back as she spun away from Amanda on her stool. Something about the cast of her face gave Amanda pause. She had made the suggestion because it made sense, and she was no stranger to washing the backs of Jas and Cons whenever the need arose. But something about this felt different in a way that had her heart suddenly beating harder in her chest and a blush blossoming across her cheeks as she stared at the pale back that had golden designs tattooed across it. Then her mouth ran dry as her eyes traveled further down, following the graceful bands of the muscles of Hannah’s lower back that led to the rounded swell of her…

Her breath hitched in her throat as she remembered last night and the feeling of Hannah falling asleep in her arms as they sat in front of the hearth. Sure, she had washed the backs of her friends plenty of times before, but that’s not what this was, was it? Taking a stealing breath, she scooted her stool closer to where Hannah was sitting, and she reached out, pulling the washcloth out of the bucket of soapy water, letting the excess drip back into the bucket as her eyes roamed over Hannah’s exposed back once more. It wasn’t just that Hannah was pretty, it was also…this felt intimate, didn’t it? They weren’t really friends, were they? Amanda didn’t know _what_ they were, all she knew was that with each passing day she admired Hannah more and more even as her urge to protect her honor from the bigotry she faced grew.

Just washing the back of a friend wasn’t nearly as dangerous as this moment was.

Scarcely daring to breathe, she brought the washcloth up, placing it against Hannah’s upper back, and she paused as she realized that she could feel Hannah trembling slightly through the washcloth, muscles shivering against her palm and fingers as Amanda began to rub the cloth in circles against the back that had never seemed so slender and frail as it did now, the burden that these shoulders had to bear on a daily basis be damned. What’s more, she could hear how Hannah’s breath was almost ragged, and Amanda was gripped by the strongest urge to see Hannah’s face even though she was scared of the deep emotion that she might find there.

Then there was a titter off to the side, and the spell that had her gripped was broken as she glanced up to see two elven women whispering behind their hands as they smirked at Hannah and Amanda from where they sat in the bath. Those were not kind smirks, were they? Amanda sent them a harsh glare as she continued to wash Hannah’s back, letting them know that she didn’t give a damn about whatever stupid little thoughts were running through their prejudiced heads. It didn’t take her all that much longer before she was finished, pouring a steaming bucket of clean water over Hannah’s back. “There you go,” she said, still glaring at the two bitches who looked more smugly amused at getting caught then at all bothered by it, and if it wouldn’t get Amanda in a hell of a lot of trouble, she’d be tempted to go punch their teeth in.

Instead she turned around on her own stool, facing her back towards Hannah. It seemed as though whatever hesitation Amanda had felt didn’t grip Hannah, as she immediately set to the task, scrubbing Amanda’s back, her hands firm and quick. In less than a minute, she was done, pouring Amanda's last bucket of water over her back, rinsing away the suds. Now that they were both clean, they could go to the big bath if they wanted. But then…Amanda hesitated where she sat, giving another short glare at the two elven women. “I don’t care if we stay and soak or if we go back to our room,” she murmured softly, only loud enough for Hannah to hear. “What do you want to do?”

Hannah paused, and Amanda noticed how she glanced at the elves in the bathhouse. “I wouldn’t mind soaking for a bit,” she admitted, and Amanda nodded.

“Then let’s go,” she said with a grin, and the two of them made their way over to the bath. It really was big, almost large enough to be called a pool, and it could comfortably seat a score of bathers. They slid into the hot water, and Amanda hissed slightly even as the scent of herbs and minerals wafted up to her nose. Ah, so the tingling wasn’t just because it was hot water, it was also medicinal and therapeutic. Very nice. She huffed. “You know,” she started under her breath after glancing around to make sure no one besides Hannah was close enough to hear her words, “if the main inn in the other town was this nice, I would’ve secured a trader’s token a lot sooner…”

“I’m still annoyed at you about that,” Hannah muttered before she stretched out under the water with a happy sigh.

“Annoyed at me but not at the facilities,” Amanda smirked. Then, noticing that the two elven women were still staring at them, she smirked wider before making a show of stretching her arms up high before she leaned back against the wall of the pool and laced her fingers behind her head. She didn’t miss how their eyes flitted down at her…ah… _assets_ before they frowned and exited the bath. Amanda’s smirk turned into a victorious grin. _Ah, yes, take that you flat-chested twigs!_ she all but crowed to herself. Perhaps a bit petty of her, but she was in a petty mood, and while it wasn’t as satisfying as punching in their teeth, it was still a victory over the two. She’d take any victory, no matter how slight. She wasn’t large-chested by any means, but she sure as shit had a lot more to offer than they did!

Then she noticed that Hannah’s attention was also focused on her chest, a bright blush on her face, and Amanda grinned even as she fought not to blush herself. It was one thing to flaunt what she had at two bitches, but it was another thing entirely to be ogled at by someone she was growing more and more fond of with each passing moment. “Like what you see?” she said with a throaty chuckle, and Hannah twitched so hard that water sloshed away from her.

“Trust you to ask such a crass question!” she hissed as she looked away, running her fingers through her long, wet hair. But after a moment, she glanced back at Amanda, hazel eyes glittering as she peered through her thick lashes at Amanda. “But…is it a problem if I did?”

Amanda brought her arms down, crossing them over her chest as she met that gaze for a long moment, the smirk fading from her face. “No. I don’t think it’s a problem at all,” she admitted softly as she bit her lower lip. For the first time, the attraction between them was out in the open, and honestly? Amanda wasn’t sure what to do now, especially since their time together was quickly coming to an end. In only a few more days…her arms tightened over her chest, the bath water lapping gently against her skin. “Would you …reconsider becoming an adventurer? Leaving this forest forever?” She didn’t say that words ‘with me’ but didn’t doubt that Hannah heard them regardless.

Hannah drew in a breath, and a glance showed that her brows had furrowed thoughtfully. “I…can’t,” she finally said, voice almost stricken. “I’ve responsibilities here, friends that I can’t leave.”

That sent an aching pang through Amanda’s chest, and she grimaced. “I see. Well, I certainly can’t fault you for not wanting to abandon your friends.” She leaned back even further against the wall of the bath, stretching her legs out under the water in front of her. “So, I’ve been wondering about this for a while. What do your tattoos mean?”

Hannah lifted up her arm, water dripping from it as she rotated it, her tattoos catching the light from the lamps set on the walls. “The three lines are morning, noon, and evening, and the dots are the sun as it travels across the sky,” she said before she brought her hand under the water to her stomach, finger tracing over some of the just barely visible golden designs there. “These other symbols are places I’ve been, things I’ve done and seen.”

Amanda took a moment to really contemplate the words before she nodded. “That’s really cool,” she said before glancing up at Hannah’s hazel eyes. “I think they’re beautiful.”

Hannah blushed before she timidly smiled. “Thanks.”

They didn’t talk all that much after that, both of them becoming lost in their thoughts as they relaxed in the bath’s hot water. They didn’t stay all that much longer, both of them sharing a look after perhaps twenty minutes before they got up and out, water running off their bodies in sheets. They headed over to the cabinets holding the towels, which were heated, much to Amanda’s delight. The elves of this kingdom were a bunch of egotistical assholes, but she had to admit that they offered some fine services…provided one had one of those stupid trader tokens.

After they were dry, they dressed in their now clean clothes and made their way back to their room on the second floor to find that Elenath was already asleep, her head tucked under her wing. Hannah didn’t have to say anything for Amanda to know to be quiet, and they both prepared for bed without a word being said between them, dressing in their lighter sleepwear quickly and quietly. That done, they got into their separate beds, and Hannah turned out the lights.

…and yet, sleep did not come for Amanda. She lay in bed, listening to the inn settle and creak around her, as well as to Hannah occasionally tossing and turning in her own bed. It didn’t really make sense, Amanda told herself as she sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the dark ceiling above her. She was tired from the day’s journey and the bath had done much to put her at ease. By all rights, she should have passed out practically from the moment that her head touched the pillow, but here she was, lying there while sleep remained elusive.

Then came a soft sigh from the other bed and then the sound of the covers being pushed away, followed by the sound of feet on the floor. Amanda turned her head, looking up at Hannah as she stood next to her bed, features only just barely visible in what little light there was in the dark room. “I can’t sleep,” she said softly, and Amanda continued to stare at her for just a moment before she moved over in the bed, holding up the blankets invitingly. Hannah didn’t say a word as she slipped into Amanda’s bed, scant inches separating them as they both lay on their backs, their breathing deep and slow.

Then Hannah drew in a breath, fidgeting slightly before she rolled on her side, scooting closer to Amanda, pressing up against her side where she paused for a moment, likely waiting for Amanda to tell her to get off of her. Amanda would rather eat glass than speak those words, and so remained silent. Once it was clear that those words were not coming, Hannah sighed softly, wrapping her arm around Amanda’s midriff, her leg draping over Amanda’s legs, and she gently placed her head against Amanda’s upper chest. Amanda didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but Hannah’s cheek rested directly over the worst of the Scar, sending tingles running through her chest at the tenderness of the gesture.

Being in each other’s arms…it was like the missing piece of a puzzle finally being placed down, and Amanda felt a sleepy grin touching her lips as the gentle scents that she now couldn’t help but associate with the woman lying pressed against her washed over her senses. Hannah’s warmth, her softness, and her scent soothed Amanda’s restless mind, and she sighed happily as the sleep that had eluded her to that point finally came calling, allowing her to slip away into peaceful slumber, Hannah following suit mere moments later.


	6. The Looming End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Amanda's journey continues even as they find gentle solace in each other's arms every night, tender embraces saying that which they were afraid to voice. But then, on the day before their last in the forest, a surprise: Hannah's friend has found them. Much to Amanda's annoyance, however, she is not greeted with kind words from the elf...rather the opposite, in fact. That leads to an argument between her and Hannah, which is yet another blow to her stricken heart.
> 
> Please, don't let it end like this, not with anger in their hearts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Sexual content. Time to earn that rating!

The Looming End

Their sleeping arrangements became the norm over the next portion of their journey, which passed without incident. They shared no further misadventures and each day went by without any further delay, the miles passing beneath their feet, and each night found them at a new inn, save for one night on the day that Hannah had insisted that they spend a few hours visiting a sacred grove that she knew off for ‘spiritual reasons.’ Amanda was rather suspicious of her true motives, especially given her earlier desire to complete the trip as soon as possible. Yet now, with each passing day, it seemed like her feet grew heavier and heavier, the number of miles that they traveled diminishing.

But one thing remained constant, whether they stayed at an inn or in one of the pre-established campsites the one night they weren’t able to make it to a city, they slept together, finding comfort in each other’s arms, even if sleeping was all that they did. It was so obvious that something was there, but there was also their impending separation looming over them as well. It was clear that Hannah wasn’t going to leave the forest for anything other than the odd jobs that she received from elves and Amanda…she wasn’t opposed to one night stands with random flings, but Hannah was already so much more than a random fling. She meant something to Amanda, and Amanda couldn’t imagine becoming something more with Hannah only to lose her almost immediately after. Right?

Right.

Still, it took considerable effort to not do something _more_. Waking up with Hannah curled up in her arms…it almost physically hurt to not lean down and capture those full lips. While they were walking, her palm itched with the yearning to hold Hannah’s hand while they travelled, and it was so hard to not just up and hug her when the opportunity presented itself. She had had a taste of Hannah’s body pressed against hers, and now she yearned for _more_ even if more was a terrible, terrible idea. And she wasn’t alone in that, either, unless her suspicions were very much mistaken.

Hannah glanced at her far more often than she used to, and she seemed to always be closer than she used to be, shoulder just barely brushing against Amanda’s as they continued their journey, or sitting next to her at dinner, and of course now not even hesitating before joining Amanda in bed. Even Elanath had grown far more comfortable with Amanda, to the point where she’d hop Hannah over to Amanda and perch, her weight comfortable on her shoulder. Hannah had looked shocked the first time it happened, but didn’t say anything, her face only growing more troubled. And of course, that said nothing about how their previous ground eating pace had noticeably slowed, as though Hannah was desperate for every extra moment that she could get with Amanda.

Amanda was smart enough to not say anything about that.

Through it all, they got increasingly dirty looks from the native elves, though the other travelers on the road hardly even seemed to notice their presence, to say nothing about actually caring about them. It was the elves that Amanda was growing more and more wary of, though. The earlier disdain seemed to be replaced by hostility that grew as Hannah and Amanda became closer. It was obvious that the elves really did not like Hannah getting closer to a human. Amanda didn’t say anything to Hannah about it, but she was beginning to really worry about what was going to happen when she left. Humans had short memories, and halflings only cared about food. Dwarves could be pretty bad about grudges, but they also didn’t care so much about anything that didn’t involve mining, smithing, or money. But elves? They had _long_ memories, and Amanda’s gut was telling her that Hannah’s life was going to get considerably worse after Amanda rejoined her party and left Hannah’s side.

It worried her immensely, and with each passing day, she found her thoughts increasingly focusing on ways to convince Hannah to come with her.

Then, on her second-to-last day in the damned forest, something unexpected happened. It was early evening, and the two of them were coming upon the last trading town that they would stay at. Elenath had taken off around noon. Hannah seemed entirely unconcerned with the bird’s absence, and Amanda was rather enjoying the comfortable silence between them when the sound of a harried voice calling out Hannah’s elvish name was heard behind them. The two of them turned around, and Amanda didn’t miss the quick, suspicious glance that Hannah shot her at how they turned around at the same time rather than first Hannah and then Amanda as she reacted to Hannah’s reaction. Whoops…she wasn’t supposed to know Hannah’s elvish name…

But then they spotted the person who had called out, a shorter, curvy elven woman with dark hair and teal eyes shaped in such a way that Amanda was immediately reminded of a basset hound. That took her by surprise, especially when a quick glance at her ears confirmed that she was a full-blooded elf, or at least very close to one…but boy was the shape of her face not what one expected of an elf!

Then she noticed that the other elf was fairly running at them, her face creased into a furious frown, and Amanda reflexively put herself between Hannah and the other woman, her hands going to some of the knives she had hidden on her person, though she did not draw them…yet. “I’d stop running,” she called out warningly with a frown of her own. “Been dealing with your people’s bullshit long enough to tolerate any funny business!”

Then Hannah sighed heavily behind her as she rested a hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “Calm down, she’s not an enemy,” she said as she walked around Amanda’s side, giving a rueful little grin over her shoulder as she continued on towards the other elf, who had stopped with a suspicious glare. “Quite the opposite, actually. She’s my one and only friend in this forsaken forest.”

At those words, Amanda relaxed, though she still felt a bit wary as she followed after Hannah. The dark-haired elf was already halfway into a tirade, elvish blistering as it flowed from her lips like water, and Amanda quirked an annoyed brow as she reached the other two. “For a friend, she doesn’t seem all that pleased to see you.”

“You!” the other elf hissed angrily. “It is _you_ I am not pleased to see! Do you know what you have done?!”

Amanda stared blankly at her for a second. “Um…you’ll have to be more specific, I’m an adventurer, I’ve done lots of things.” She frowned. “Plus, it’s rude to yell at someone without even introducing yourself.”

That resulted in yet another glare, but after a moment, the angry one huffed, looking to the side. “…Barbara. You may call me Barbara.”

Amanda couldn’t help but groan at that, rubbing her temple. “That’s not an elvish name. Is this another case of ‘I don’t trust the human with my true name?’” she asked, immediately regretting how she worded that as Hannah flinched slightly, a guilty look flitting briefly over her face before she schooled her features.

Barbara merely sniffed haughtily. “No. It is my given name.”

Hannah glanced between the two of them before stepping closer to Barbara, laying a calming hand on her upper arm even as she looked at Amanda. “She was an orphan adopted by humans who named her. After they passed, Barbara moved here to this kingdom before she met me, and she kept her name in honor of them.”

Barbara looked hurt at the words. “Hanari-” she started only to flinch at the harsh glare that Hannah flashed her. “Er, _Hannah_ , why are you telling someone like _that_ ,” she said with narrowed eyes at Amanda, “my past?”

“Because I trust her, and because I want her to know why you’re my friend,” Hannah replied shortly.

“You trust _her_?”

Amanda had had enough. “Okay, we get it, you don’t like me. Whatever, I’ve had plenty of people hate me before they get to know me,” she snapped. “But how ‘bout we go back a bit. The hell did I do to get yelled at?”

“You came into this forest!” Barbara snapped back, stepping right up to Amanda, glaring up into her face even as Amanda’s brows quirked up. Well, the elf didn’t lack guts, that was for certain. “The rumors going around are more than worrying, they’re _dangerous_! How dare you smear Hannah’s good name by waltzing through our kingdom? We don’t _want_ you here, now leave!”

“I’m fucking working on it!” Amanda snarled back. “It’s not like I asked to be separated from my party, and the gods know that I’d be perfectly content to leave all you stuck-up assholes well alone! You think I’ve been having fun this past week?”

Barbara sneered at her. “If the rumors are at all true, you have been, and at my friend’s expense!”

“That’s enough, you two!” Hannah shouted as she shoved the two of them away from each other. “Barbara, I willingly took this job, and I’m going to make enough from it that I won’t have to worry about money for a long time, alright? Amanda, she’s just worried and protective about me. Now, for the love of all that’s holy, stop fighting!”

Amanda scoffed before rolling her eyes. “Fine by me, but just remember, I didn’t start it. Can we just get to the town so we can get a room?”

Hannah sighed and nodded as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, we can. Just let me speak to Barbara for a minute.”

“Ugh, fine, just keep the barbed insults to a minimum, especially if I’m not there to defend myself!”

Hannah stamped her foot and pointed down the road even as Barbara bristled behind her. “Amanda, go!”

“I’m going, I’m going!”

She stomped off down the road until she was far away enough that she couldn’t hear the other two, and she stopped folding her arms over her chest as she glared at Hannah and Barbara, stubbornly ignoring the curious and amused glances that the others on the road were giving them. Whatever conversation Hannah and Barbara were having, it was passionate, with Barbara gesticulating and gesturing angrily at Amanda on occasion. So much for not insulting her…

Perhaps twenty minutes later, their conversation stopped, and they both walked towards Amanda, Hannah’s face annoyed and Barbara’s sour. “Are we done?” Amanda sneered, and Barbara’s eyes narrowed in an angry glare before she looked off to the side.

“She’s agreed not to talk to you if you don’t talk to her, and she’s going to wait at the trading village while I get you to the border tomorrow,” Hannah explained, her voice suddenly weary. “She’ll even not have dinner with us even though it’s been more than a month since I’ve last seen her.”

Amanda couldn’t resist the urge to deliver a barb. “Well, I greatly appreciate her heroic sacrifice,” she bit out, and Hannah swatted at her with the back of her hand.

“Be nice. She’s actually doing you a big favor,” she said before she dropped her gaze to the road, her expression darkening. “Now you don’t have to worry so much for my safety…after you leave.”

That was like a bucket of ice water to the face, and she shut up. A very tense silence gripped them as the three of them continued onward, and Amanda’s jaw worked furiously as she mulled that one over. Finally, with an annoyed sigh, she spoke. “Thank you…for being here for her,” she grit out between clenched teeth. “I really was worried about how the others were going to treat her once I was gone.”

Silence answered her for a moment. “I’m her friend,” Barbara finally replied. “I wouldn’t abandon her to those worms.”

“Mm. Well, I’m glad that she has such a fierce friend.”

Hannah barked out a sharp laugh at that. “Fierce in words, not deeds! She works at one of the larger libraries, heads the human relations department. I’d be surprised if she knew how to use any weapon, besides a bow for recreation and hunting, of course.”

Amanda glanced sidelong at the other two. “Still, she was quite willing to get right in the face of an adventurer. I can think of much worse friends to have.”

“Oh, wow, is that an actual compliment?”

“Listen, you, I’m trying to be nice, alright? I _really_ don’t like what I’ll be leaving Hannah to. I wish it wasn’t necessary.”

“And _I_ wish you never met her!”

Hannah’s voice was soft, but firm. “I don’t.” She gave Barbara a steady glance. “I’m glad I met her, and I wouldn’t change that for all the world. Keep that in mind, Barbara.”

Barbara stared at Hannah for a long moment before she huffed, looking away and grumbling under her breath. There were a great many things that Amanda wanted to say to Barbara, but she held her tongue. She didn’t want what little time she had left with Hannah to be spoiled by a fight with Hannah’s one and only friend.

Fuck. Fuck! She just…she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Hannah, not yet. But this was it, their last full day together, and tomorrow they would say farewell and Amanda would never again see the woman she-

 _That_ was a thought she couldn’t bear to let finish. If she actually put a word to that which was quickly growing in her heart, then her already terrible situation would become untenable. Tomorrow was already going to be hard enough. She couldn’t let it become any worse. She glanced over to where Hannah and Barbara were now chatting in elvish, her heart twisting at the happy smile that lit up Hannah’s face. What she wouldn’t give to see that every day! But it just didn’t seem like it was to be. Hannah didn’t want to leave this forest kingdom, and Amanda couldn’t stay. Tomorrow was going to be their last day together.

By some small miracle, she managed to not start a fight with Barbara before they made it to the trading town, one of the largest they had seen yet, likely due to its proximity to a more densely populated border, as opposed to the wildlands that Amanda had managed to teleport to…stupid crappy ass scroll! Hannah might say that she was glad that she had met Amanda, but if Amanda hadn’t had that shoddy scroll, then they never would have met and Amanda wouldn’t feel this aching pain growing in her heart.

Never before had she wanted something that she couldn’t have this badly, and it wasn’t a thing that she could try and take. Her fast hands and deft fingers couldn’t steal Hannah’s heart away from her. She couldn’t change tomorrow. This was it.

This was all that they were going to have.

They entered the town, and Barbara shot Hannah a smile and Amanda a glare. “I have some business in town, some traders managed to get their hands on some rare manuscripts I need to take a look at. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hannah,” she said warmly before her expression grew cold, and she merely glared at Amanda before she sniffed haughtily and spun on her heel, dark hair flaring out behind her before she was walking away.

“You know,” Amanda started, her voice dry, “I get the strangest feeling that she doesn’t like me.”

Hannah sighed. “Pay her no mind. She’s just protective of me.”

“Is that what it’s called?” Amanda muttered under her breath even as she began to head towards the large building that looked like an inn.

“Oh, come on, Amanda, don’t be like that,” Hannah called out after her as she followed.

“Don’t be like what?” Amanda shot back. “I just had your friend shit all over me and all but declare a blood feud on me, and when I tried to play nice she doubled down. Not exactly how I wanted today to go, y’know?”

“Alright, that’s fair, but try to imagine how it is for us,” Hannah tried to reason even as she lay a hand on Amanda’s shoulder, the touch sending tingles running down Amanda’s arm even as her stomach fluttered. Startled at the reaction, she pulled away from the touch, and immediately hated herself for the brief look of pain that flashed through Hannah’s eyes before her expression became closed off and guarded. “We’re going to have to weather the storm of bigotry well after you leave.”

Amanda grit her teeth as they walked into the cooler main lobby of the inn. “You don’t have to do shit,” she snapped before turning and facing Hannah. “Come with me. Leave all of this behind and join my party!”

Hannah bit her lip, glancing to the side even as bystanders in the lobby murmured as they curiously looked on. “I can’t leave Barbara,” she finally said.

“Then bring her along, too! She’s some kind of human expert, right? What better way can she improve her trade than by actually traveling among human lands, working with humans and going on adventures?”

“That’s…just not possible,” Hannah murmured, and Amanda gave a disgusted scoff as she threw her hands up in the air, turning towards the main desk.

“Bullshit!” she snapped over her shoulder before all but storming forward, flashing the trader’s token, already fishing out the coin necessary to pay for their stay. “It’s entirely possible, you just _won’t_.”

The innkeeper, a reedy and now entirely nervous looking elven woman, meekly slid the key across the polished wooden surface of the counter between them, and Amanda snagged it up before making her way to the stairs without a single word to the woman, Hannah following closely behind. “That’s not fair!” she protested hotly. “You don’t have any idea what it’s been like for me and Barbara!”

Amanda angrily unlocked the door, shoving it open before stomping inside, Hannah hot on her heels. “I think I have something of an idea, Hannah!” she countered as she threw her gear on the floor at the foot of the bed closest to the window. “I’m not fucking blind or deaf, I’ve _seen_ and _heard_ how all those other asshole elves have been treating you, have been looking at you! Sure I might not know everything, but I know enough to say that you should leave this wretched place without a single glance over your shoulder.” Then she noticed how Hannah was putting her own gear at the foot of the other bed, and her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”

Hannah’s face was tight and angry, and she didn’t look at Amanda, her gaze locked on the bed. “Putting my stuff by my bed, what does it look like I’m doing?”

Amanda couldn’t stop the shocked, pained gasp from escaping her, and that, at least, had Hannah looking over to her before she flinched guiltily. “Your bed?” Amanda asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering. “Now? After…?”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to share a bed now, when we’re so close to the end?”

“Why not? Why wouldn’t it be?” Amanda snarled, running frustrated, upset hands through her wild hair. “Gods alive, I’m losing you tomorrow, you want to take away one last night of comfort away as well?!”

Hannah rocked back a shocked half step, her hazel eyes now wide as she stared at Amanda. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t know!” Amanda said before she froze, blood turning to ice in her veins, the thought that Hannah didn’t feel the same things that she was feeling spreading like a terrible poison in her mind. “Unless…no, don’t do that to me. Don’t…don’t hurt me like that.”

“Don’t hurt you like _what_?” Hannah growled, obviously exasperated, and Amanda’s hands curled into fists at her sides.

“Are you fucking serious? Hannah, I don’t just invite anyone to join the party! We haven’t had a new member in over five years, and we have to trust each other to survive the places we’ve been! I invited you because I care about you, goddammit!” She was yelling now, angry, frustrated tears running down her cheeks, but Amanda didn’t bother to dash them away as all her feelings came roaring up. Desperation to not lose Hannah, anxiety about tomorrow, a sharp yearning to hold her in her arms one last time coupled with her heart telling her to never let her go, and frustration that Hannah would rather stay _here_ where people _hated her_ then come with Amanda and escape this hell hole. And so she continued, scarcely aware of how Hannah’s face was crumpling with each word that came pouring out of her mouth. “You’re so much better than this fucking place, and the fact that you don’t see it and would rather stay here is-!”

Her next words would never be spoken, as Hannah took the two steps that separated them, her surprisingly strong hands seizing Amanda by the sides of her face, pulling her head down only for Hannah to mash their lips together, their first kiss hard and bruising and passionate and angry. Amanda whimpered at the sensation of Hannah’s full lips against hers cutting her heart to the quick, and her hands came up to grip Hannah’s back, fairly crushing Hannah’s smaller form to her own, bodies pressing tightly together. Her head was swimming even as she desperately sucked air in through her nose as Hannah’s lips worked furiously against her own.

Then Hannah was pulling away, and Amanda’s eyes fluttered open, much to her surprised confusion. She hadn’t realized she had closed them in the first place. Hannah was now clutching Amanda’s shoulders, standing on her toes, her body still pressed tightly against Amanda’s, and she was panting, her sweet breath washing against Amanda’s lips, sending her head to spinning again. Then Hannah licked her lips and blinked, her pupils dilated. “I…I didn’t know how else to shut you up,” she rasped throatily.

Amanda didn’t bother to answer with words. They were beyond words. The dam had burst, all her yearning and wants and desires that had been building from the first moment that they had regarded each other with something other than hostility rushing forth, and so she merely growled as her hands swept down Hannah’s back, fingers digging into the soft swell of her rear and she scooped her up. Hannah squeaked at that, her face turning a brilliant red as her legs wrapped around Amanda’s waist, but to Amanda that wasn’t as important as swooping back down so that they were kissing again. She felt almost drunk and delirious now, fire crackling across her skin before settling deep in her gut as she somehow stumbled over to one of the beds, falling down into it, her larger frame pressing against Hannah’s smaller body.

Hannah gasped against Amanda’s lips at that, her hips rocking up against Amanda’s pelvis. Amanda groaned, deep and low at that as she instinctively rocked back, one hand moving from the swell of Hannah’s ass to the back of her thigh, squeezing firmly even as she took advantage of Hannah’s gasp to sweep her tongue into her mouth, drinking deeply of Hannah’s taste and feel as their tongues began to duel.

Then she became aware of a tugging just below her throat, and pulled away with a gasp to find Hannah’s fingers shakily pulling at the ties holding her leather jerkin closed. She shifted up so that she was bracing herself on one arm, hand sinking into the mattress next to Hannah’s head, auburn hair brushing silkily against her fingers as her other hand helped Hannah in her quest, to two of them quickly undoing the armor’s ties. Amanda got up on her knees, Hannah’s legs still wrapped around her waist as she tore the leather off of her, tossing it carelessly onto the floor before she was pulling at the hem of her shirt, shucking it over her head before she sent it flying to join the armor.

She wasn’t wearing chest wraps…the cut of her armor gave her enough support that she didn’t need them most of the time, and she preferred being able to breath freely for when she had to run or climb or fight. And right here and now, with how Hannah’s glittering, burning eyes swept over her now naked torso, she was glad that she hadn’t been wearing them. These weren’t the curious eyes that Hannah had used in the bathhouse, these were lover’s eyes. Before Amanda could say anything, Hannah leaned up, wrapping her hands behind Amanda’s neck before pulling her down. But those full, bruised lips of hers didn’t meet Amanda’s mouth…no, they angled to the side, pressing against Amanda’s jaw.

For a moment, Amanda didn’t understand…until Hannah kissed the same spot again, and Amanda realized that she was kissing the Scar. Amanda breathed out a sigh at that, faintly aware that she was trembling as she turned her head, giving Hannah better access to the old injury. It didn’t seem as though Hannah was content with just that. No, she twisted her hips and _rolled_ , both of them flipping over in the bed so that she was now on top, the rough leather of her short tunic pressing against Amanda’s aching breasts, and Amanda gasped at the sensation even as Hannah stared down at her, hazel eyes glimmering with a heady heat matched only by the tenderness of her face.

They were both silent for a moment, holding each other’s gazes before Hannah dipped back down, the hair from the end of the ponytail now hanging down the side of her head brushing against Amanda’s heated skin, tickling slightly. Then Hannah’s lips were on Amanda’s skin once more, joined by her tongue that flicked lightly against the portion of the Scar on Amanda’s jaw, and Amanda mewled softly, toes curling as her hands fisted in Hannah’s tunic, pressing against Hannah’s back, pulling her closer.

It was then that Hannah began to shift down, mouth and tongue working against the Scar as she traced it down. By the time that Hannah reached the deepest part of the Scar down past Amanda’s collarbone, Amanda was panting heavily. No one had ever…this was the first time that…

Then a calloused hand found one of Amanda’s breasts even as Hannah’s mouth left the Scar and found her other breast. Amanda’s mind went blissfully blank as she gave a croaking cry, hips rocking up as she tried to relieve the pressure that was steadily building there. Only one thought managed to penetrate the heated haze that had gripped her, but the thought was loud and insistent:

She wanted _more_.

Now it was her turn to roll the two of them over, but she did not pause like Hannah did. No, she very quickly undid the ties to Hannah’s tunic before almost roughly pulling it open so that it was draped at her sides. Amanda’s mouth salivated as she looked down at the exposed pale skin now painted by a rosy red blush that spread across her upper chest and at how her chest was heaving as she lay there, staring up at Amanda. For her part, Amanda didn’t even bother to try and take Hannah’s tunic completely off before she was moving, shifting so that she was lying on her side next to Hannah, her leg draped over Hannah’s thighs as her mouth began to kiss and nip down along the golden tattoo that started at Hannah’s neck even as she placed her hand on Hannah’s stomach, reveling in how the muscles of her abdomen twitched under her palm and fingers.

“Please…” Hannah gasped from above her, her voice trembling with need, and when a lady says please like that? Well, you obliged. Her mouth found Hannah’s chest even as her hand moved down, slipping into her shorts, questing past downy hair. She sucked in a sharp breath as her fingers brushed against Hannah’s clit, Hannah crying out as she rolled her hips up against Amanda’s fingers. Amanda set to work, kissing and nipping across Hannah’s chest as she rubbed her fingers against Hannah. Hannah brought a hand up to the back of Amanda’s head, shaking fingers threading through her hair as she held Amanda’s head against her chest, and her hips rocked rhythmically against Amanda’s fingers. Amanda let herself get lost in this moment, her senses full of Hannah…her scent, her warmth, her taste, all swirling together like the headiest wine, setting Amanda’s head to swimming even as her eyes squeezed shut, her heart wrenching in her chest.

This was all she wanted, but this was the one and only time she could have it. Tears began prickling in the corners of her eyes even as she drew Hannah higher and higher until she finally cried out her release, hips undulating under Amanda’s fingers as she came. There came a short pause as Hannah came down from her high, and then gentle hands were grasping the sides of Amanda’s face, drawing her up for a tender kiss that lingered as Hannah ran her fingers through Amanda’s hair. Then the kiss ended, Hannah pulling slightly away. “I want you,” she whispered. “All of you.”

They paused at that, once more meeting each other’s gazes before Amanda was rolling away and lifting her hips so that she could slip her pants and underwear off even as Hannah undressed as well. Both of them fully nude, they came together once more, far more gently this time, hands and mouths and eyes exploring each other’s bodies, tracing tattoos and scars, committing them to memory so that they would have something to remember after tomorrow.

They would not go down to dinner, instead spending every last minute that they could together. When they were too tired to continue having sex (or was it making love? Amanda wasn’t sure, and that tore at her heart!) they were instead content to hold each other, bodies pressed close together as they made the most of this night. But for all their physical closeness, words were scarce between them. What else could they speak of besides their pending separation? What use was talking about hopes and dreams with one that would soon no longer be a part of their life? They had tonight, and tonight alone.

It all became a tender blur as time lost meaning, the night dragging on. And though Amanda tried to ignore its siren call, sleep came for her and Hannah sometime in the early hours of the morning, their sated and exhausted bodies succumbing to that which their minds tried to resist. They fell asleep in each other’s arms once more, their naked flesh pressing close marking the only difference from all the times before.


	7. The Meaning Behind A Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda's last day in the forest realm has finally arrived. Waking up in Hannah's arms and knowing that this was it, that last night was their one and only time together is torturous, but what else can they do? Amanda has to return to her party, and Hannah can't leave the realm or else those that have abused and ridiculed her for decades will have won. But at least the two of them have last night to remember as they go their separate ways. Only...
> 
> ...why are the elves looking at them with such hostility in their eyes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Nudity, a _little_ bit of spicy, and violence

The Meaning Behind A Name

When they awoke the next morning, it was to a sense of awkwardness, and Hannah found it hard to meet Amanda’s green eyes. How long had it been since she had had a lover? Over a decade, if she remembered correctly, and her last partner hadn’t come close to making Hannah feel that way that Amanda had. Her previous lover had only been interested in the brief comfort they found with each other, but Amanda felt different. Amanda felt like she had been interested in her as a person, not just her body. For all the human’s uncouth behavior and foul language, she had been attentive and passionate and just _wonderful_.

And she was going to leave Hannah’s life forever just as soon as she could get her to the border.

That thought…was pain and poison, a terrible miasma that swirled within her heart and soul. She didn’t want to lose Amanda, not when they had grown so close this past week. But she couldn’t leave the forest. She couldn’t leave Barbara behind, not when she bore a human name and was known to sympathize with humans and was the one friend to the one and only half-elf who didn’t have the good sense to just _leave_ like all the others.

But dammit, this was her home! This was the kingdom her mother lived in her entire life, and it was the realm that her father had made a name in despite all the prejudice he had faced as a human. If she left, she’d lose the home that had sheltered her family for generations. If she up and left, then she’d be admitted that all the bigots and assholes won. She’d have endured all their scorn and ridicule and derision for all these many years for nothing, and she couldn’t bide by that thought. She would stay and she’d prove all those that hated her wrong. She’d show them that she belonged just as much as they did, she’d find her place amongst her mother’s people!

But first, she needed to get out of bed, even if she was loathe to do so. It felt…right, being in Amanda’s strong arms like this. How could she not? She had appreciated Amanda’s physicality almost from the beginning. Even when she had been supremely annoyed with Amanda, she had still known that she was attractive in a cocky way that had had Hannah’s heart racing in her chest. Did the fact that Amanda was totally her type influence Hannah’s decision to actually escort her through the woods? Almost certainly. But for all that Hannah tried to keep her at a distance with scorn and a prickly demeanor…that all went out the window right when Amanda got so furiously angry on her behalf after she sold the berries. Why couldn’t she be a terrible person that Hannah could hate? Why did she have to be noble and charming in that swashbuckling way? Why did her wit and humor have to match with Hannah’s so very well?

And then they had woken up in each other’s arms for the first time, their gentle strength soothing Hannah’s frayed soul and giving her a peace that she hadn’t known in a very long time…

She whined in the back of her throat, snuggling closer to Amanda, reveling in the feeling of Amanda’s warm, smooth skin against her own, of the feeling of Amanda’s breasts pressing against her side as their legs intertwined beneath the blankets. What she wouldn’t give for this moment to last until the end of time! This happy, warm, soft moment, the likes of which she hadn’t felt in so very long.

Amanda’s calloused hands ran up and down her back, and Hannah whined again as she buried her head in the crook of Amanda’s neck, trying to get lost in the scent of sandalwood and spice that was wholly Amanda. “Hey,” came the low, throaty murmur that fairly rumbled against her body. “We should probably get up.”

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want this to end, even though she knew it must. The corners of her eyes burning with tears that she prayed wouldn’t fall, she abruptly lifted her head before she was kissing Amanda, pouring all her desperation and longing and emotion that she _couldn’t_ voice for fear of going mad into the gesture, her hands clutching at Amanda’s shoulders as she deepened the kiss, trying to make it last for as long as possible.

Then one of Amanda’s hands found her rear, cupping and then squeezing firmly, and Hannah whimpered as she rocked against Amanda’s hip, warmth rekindling in her gut. But then Amanda broke the kiss, sad eyes finding Hannah’s gaze. “Hannah, we can’t,” she murmured, words heavy. “We need to get up.”

“I don’t want to,” Hannah stubbornly muttered, only to yelp as Amanda’s palm smacked lightly against her butt, and she reared up to stare down at Amanda with wide, incredulous eyes. “Did you just…did you just spank me?” she asked, flabbergasted.

Amanda merely smirked as she quirked a brow. “I dunno, did I?” But then the smile fled away from her face, and she sighed before she, too, sat up, the blanket pooling in her lap. “Seriously, though, we need to get going. I don’t want to either…I really don’t want to. But we have to.”

She was right. Hannah desperately didn’t want to admit it, but Amanda was right. Heart heavy in her chest, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stomach fluttering slightly at the sight of the love marks that Amanda had left on her body. Souvenirs to remind Hannah of last night after Amanda was gone, even if only for a short time. She’d take what she could get though…she was greedy like that. She bent down, gathering up her clothes, only to look over to see Amanda still sitting in bed, eyes smoldering as they roamed over Hannah’s naked body, tracing the swells of her curves and running along her tattoos. Hannah blushed at that heated look, her nervous hand running over her thick, messy hair.

Then Amanda blinked, grimaced, and looked away, a guilty look on her face. “Hannah, I…” she started before pausing, looking lost. “I’m sorry.”

Hannah was silent for a moment as she pulled her shorts on. “Don’t be,” she finally said. “We…it’s unfortunate, but can’t be helped. But last night? I’ll treasure that for the rest of my life. It means more than I can properly say.”

Amanda sighed. “Hannah, please come with me?” she asked with a small hitch in her voice, her green eyes staring pleadingly. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I can’t leave, Amanda,” Hannah said softly as she pulled on her short tunic, doing up the ties. She turned, taking the moment to really appreciate how Amanda looked right now, sitting nude in the bed, blanket pooled in her lap, tender desperation on her face. But the moment had to end. “Are you going to get dressed?”

Amanda sighed again, this one sounding defeated as she ran her hand through her messy hair. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” She, too, got out of bed, gathering up her clothes and putting them on, and ten minutes later, they were leaving their room. If they had known what was waiting for them, they would have stayed.

The first clue that something wasn’t quite right was how the elves in the common area of the inn were glaring at them as they walked down the stairs. Hannah was used to dirty looks from the other elves of the kingdom, but these felt different, they felt full of malice and hate. She nervously looked around as they settled their final account, the elf behind the counter (a different one from the timid girl the night before) scarcely said a word to them before he was pointing at the door. “Get out,” he ordered in a cold voice, and Amanda answered with a sneer even as an unsettling feeling of foreboding settled in Hannah’s gut.

She reached out, plucking at Amanda’s sleeve. “Hey, let’s go,” she murmured softly, glancing furtively about. Her instincts were telling her to get Amanda out of the forest as quickly as possible before laying low for a while. If she could stay in her home village for a few months, then maybe whatever this feeling was would be diminished.

Amanda continued to glare at the innkeeper for a moment before she scoffed dismissively, turning and following Hannah as she headed out of the inn. It was an overcast day, which seemed only fitting, and even out here it seemed at the native elves were hyper-focused on the two of them, their eyes narrowed with something that ran far deeper than the derision that Hannah was so used to. Yeah, she needed to get Amanda out of here and go to ground for a good long while. “Do you need anything?” she asked absently as she scanned around the town streets.

It seemed as though Amanda had picked up on the fact that things were quite right, either, as she, too, was looking around with a cautious frown. “Yeah, I would like to stock up on my trail rations, get to where I was before I entered the forest,” she muttered, hands flexing uneasily at her sides.

Hannah bit her lip. “I need some things as well, for my journey back home. It’ll be faster if we split up.” That earned an uneasy glance from Amanda, but she shook her head with a shrug. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“That’s fair. Let’s go.”

They headed to the section of town reserved for the vendors and separated. Hannah fairly jogged over to the stand that she needed to go to, her heart beating faster in her chest and her palms sweating as she reached into her coin purse even before reaching the vendor. She wanted to do this as quickly as possible, what with how her instincts were fairly screaming at her that she was in danger. But that was madness, wasn’t it? In actual danger in her own home realm, after breaking no laws? Surely her fellow elves were better than that.

She had just reached the front of the line when Elenath came flapping down out of the grey skies, cawing out a hoarse warning. Hannah didn’t pause to think, and instead started to drop to a crouch, hands reaching up for her staff hanging across her back. But it was too little, too late, and a cruel hand seized her ponytail, yanking her head harshly back. She cried out in shocked pain, hands going up to grab at the hand and wrist of whoever was attacking her, and her fingers closed around the cool, hard metal of a gauntlet.

“ _Did you think that you can lay with a human without repercussion, Peredhel_?” came the furious snarl in elvish, and Hannah managed to twist around just enough to see the trio of guards behind her, their faces showing utter disdain and malice. “ _Bad enough that you exist, worse that you encourage such vile behavior by your actions_!”

“ _I didn’t do anything_!” she protested, only to cry out again as he wrenched her head around.

“ _You need to be taught a lesson_.” There was the hiss of a blade being drawn, and she cried out for the third time as elf who held her hair brought a gleaming dagger up to her face.

It was only because of the angle that he was holding her head at that she saw the green and red blur that was Amanda almost magically appear behind the trio, and for a split second time seemed to stand still as Hannah caught sight of Amanda’s face. It was focused and set, her lips in a thin line and her nostrils flared, her eyes wide and filled with a terrible fury that Hannah had _never_ seen on her face before.

Then that moment was over, and Amanda fell on the guards like a thunderclap, wrathful as an avenging angel, body moving with the sure grace of a seasoned warrior. Even with no weapons in her hands (and thank the Gods for that, else these guards would have surely been slain!) and despite the fact that the guards were fully armed and armored, they stood no chance. The first guard, she kicked in the back of his knee before her hands seized his shoulders as he fell, and she all but threw him down into the mud of the street in a clatter before she spun on the next guard, who was fumbling with her spear. She hadn’t been ready for Amanda’s attack, and Amanda took full advantage of that, rushing forward with her teeth bared in a silent snarl as her hand flashed up, held just _so_ , fingers folded at the middle knuckles, narrow enough that they slipped between the gap of the helmet’s cheek protectors, smashing into nose, upper lip, and mouth. The guard stumbled back with a howl of pain, spear dropping to the ground with a clatter as her hands flew up to her face, blood shining red underneath grasping fingers.

The guard who had seized Hannah’s hair shoved her away and slashed at Amanda with his dagger. Amanda ducked under the blow, shooting a desperate glance at Hannah as the first guard she had downed got back to his feet behind her. “Run!” she cried out. “I’ll catch up!”

Hannah needed no further prompting, and she took off, heart hammering in her chest. This wasn’t good! They would have to run as quickly as they could to the border, and there was no guarantee that they would actually make it, not if they had guards hot on their trail. But then, as she was running away, there was a sharp cry of pain behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see that the three guards had Amanda surrounded, and one had just jabbed the butt of his spear into her lower back, sending her stumbling forward.

Hannah skidded to a stop and spun back around to face Amanda and the guards, her hands clenching into fists at her side as she grit her teeth. Amanda was a seasoned adventurer, that much was clear by how she held herself, but even a seasoned adventurer would have trouble holding off three guards, who likely had entire centuries of experience between them. Amanda needed her help.

Then hands seized her shoulders, and she turned, ready to attack whoever had grabbed her, only to relax slightly when she saw that it was Barbara. “Let me go, she needs help!” Hannah hissed.

Barbara shook her head, her face a mask of worried fear. “If you go and help her, you’re going to end up in prison with her!” she shot back. “Her sacrifice will be in vain!” She stepped slightly back, whispering under her breath as her hands wove designs in the air, and Hannah felt a slight tingle across her body. “There, now they won’t recognize you,” she said. Ah, so she must have cast an illusion over Hannah. Barbara wasn’t a very skilled illusionist, but she knew a little.

Thus protected by her friend’s spell, Hannah turned her attention back to Amanda, feeling sick to her stomach as she watched the guards finally subdue her. It was a small mercy that they hadn’t just decided to kill her then and there…likely only because Amanda hadn’t come at them armed. But they hadn’t been gentle, and blood ran down Amanda’s face and she was gasping for breath. It was obvious she was in considerable pain, but even so, her green eyes scanned the watching crowd, sweeping over Hannah without pausing to show they recognized her new appearance before Amanda sighed with a relieved smile.

Hannah’s heart lurched in her chest. Even though Amanda was well and truly captured by the guards, she was happy that Hannah had escaped.

“It can’t end like this,” Hannah said softly as the head guard also looked around at the curious bystanders, his face suspicious, likely as he was trying to see if he could spot Hannah. But, just like Amanda, his eyes swept over Hannah, whatever form Barbara had given her hiding her in plain sight. Given a disgusted scoff, he turned back to where Amanda stood with her arms held behind her back by the other two, and Amanda gave him a triumphant smirk. He rewarded her with an almost absent slap across the face that still wrenched her head to the side. “I have to help her.”

“What?” Barbara hissed. “No, Hannah, if you do this-!”

Hannah shook her head sharply as she stepped forward, an odd sense of calm falling over her. “I _have_ to help her,” she repeated, letting the magic well up from within, strong and powerful as she let the wild shape take her, her form swelling and growing rapidly, brown fur erupting across her body.

She was a Druid, and nature’s call resonated strongly within her, and she had seen and experienced much in the long years that she had ventured out into the Wilds. She had survived and triumphed over many trials and tribulations, and now the woman that she was falling in love in needed her help.

She _would_ answer.

The bystanders around Hannah cried out in shock as a bear appeared in their midst, and it was the female guard who was the first of the three of them to look over, her face growing almost comically alarmed as Hannah gave a rumbling roar and charged forward. She knew from experience that bears moved _fast_ , despite their massive bulk, and the three elves scarcely had time to react before she fell upon them like an avalanche. The female guard with the spear cried out as she gave a thrust made sloppy by her shock, and Hannah slammed one paw down upon it, snapping the weapon in half before she contemptuously swatted the guard down with her other paw. Her claws screeched against the metal of her breast plate as the paw the size of a dinner plate sent her crashing down into the street where she lay groaning, only feebly stirring.

Then a line of fire against Hannah’s side and she turned her great, shaggy head to glare at the male guard who was the first that Amanda had knocked down. He was holding a now bloodied sword in shaking hand, eyes wide with terror as he stared up at Hannah. With a huff, Hannah backhanded the elf, sending him crashing into a vendor’s stand, the wood and canvas and goods collapsing around him. Those two dispatched, Hannah stood on her hind legs, looming up and up over the head guard who stood his ground, glaring up at her with a pale face, sword held in one hand. Well, one couldn’t deny that he was brave…

She dropped down on all fours again, shambling forward and almost daring him to try and strike her as she moved her head in close, turning it to the side and opening her jaws wide, clamping down on the sides of his helmet before she drew in a deep breath. Then she squeezed her jaws closed, just enough that her fangs punctured metal and the helmet began to crumple under the terrible pressure of the bite, and she roared, long and loud, fetid breath washing over the guard’s face.

That was the final straw, and he dropped down to his knees, sword clattering to the ground. Hannah released his helmet and turned to Amanda, who was still gasping for breath as she clutched her side. Were her ribs broken? That wasn’t good, she wouldn’t be able to run. Huffing, Hannah tossed her head towards her own back, and Amanda glanced at her with a confused frown before her eyes widened with understanding. She stumbled forward, reaching up over Hannah’s haunch, fingers twining into thick fur before she was pulling herself onto Hannah’s back. The moment that she was settled, Hannah was turning and taking off.

Bears were fast. Almost as fast as a galloping horse, and the guards at the gate hadn’t been aware of the commotion in town, so the gate still stood open. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn’t for a bear with a human riding it to come thundering around the street corner towards them. For a precious second, they could only stare at the two of them in shock before the guard captain turned. The gates began to swing shut, but it was too late…their shock had delayed them long enough that they wouldn’t be able to get it shut in time. The captain seemed to realize this, and he continued to shout orders, some of the other guards readying their spears…only to scatter as arrows began to strike the ground at their feet. Amanda was firing her bow at them, and for all that Hannah was desperate for the two of them to escape, she still felt relief flood through her at how Amanda was noticeably doing everything in her power to not actually hurt an elf.

With the guards scattering and the gates not yet shut, Hannah galloped through the narrowing opening, reaching the forest road beyond. Something flitted past her, and she jerked to the side as the white fletched arrow sank buzzing into a tree as she passed it. _Hang on!_ she thought desperately, wishing she could say the words to Amanda as she began to serpentine as more arrows came flying from the town wall at them. Her jinking path and the trees around them kept them safe, and after a short and desperate flight, they were well out of range of any response from the guards. Hannah slowed down from her chaotic gallop to a slower, loping pace, and left the cover of the woods to get on the road heading east to the border. Amanda groaned before she lay down on top of Hannah’s back, her arms squeezing tight as she held on. “Stupid,” she ground out. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…”

Hannah wasn’t sure who she was talking to.

She didn’t bother to stop and change back, not now, not with what was at risk. At her pace and with the chaotic state that they had left the town in, they just might reach the border before any orders calling for their arrest reached it. Honestly, that was their only hope. The Wardens were a completely different story than the Town Guard, and if the Wardens were told to stop them, there was precious little that Hannah or Amanda could do to prevent them from doing so. They would be stopped, it was just a matter of whether or not the Wardens would take them alive or dead. They had to keep running.

And so Hannah kept moving, breath rushing in and out of her chest as she continued that ambling, loping pace, the dirt of the road passing quickly under her feet. At a walking pace, it was a few hours from the town to the border, and she was going much faster than a walk. She should hopefully reach the edge of the forest in half an hour.

One benefit to her fast pace was that she had to concentrate on it, on continuing to move her feet ever forward, on not slowing down. Bears were not by nature long-distance runners, and she hoped that her endurance wouldn’t run out before she got Amanda to safety.

Yes…keep thinking about the run, not what lay at the end of it…

Amanda kept blessedly silent as the minutes slowly trickled by, and Hannah kept her ears swiveled back as far as she could as she continued to lope along, listening for any sound of pursuit. If the Town Guard truly wanted to, mounted pursuit could likely catch up to them, and then it would be a fight she really didn’t want. Thankfully, no pursuit came, at least not yet, something that Hannah hoped would continue. She needed to get Amanda to the border, get her to her party, and then…well, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen then. She had assaulted guards in order to save Amanda.

…oh, gods, she had assaulted guards to save Amanda.

For a moment, her stride faltered before she forced herself to continue on, even as the reality of what she had done finally caught up to her. She had assaulted guards, and while she had transformed while under an illusion and therefore no one could say for certain that she was the one who assaulted the guards…she was a Druid. The kingdom _knew_ that she was a Druid. They’d be able to arrest her on merit of that knowledge alone.

Oddly enough, that realization gave her a sense of peace. She was going to be arrested for assaulting the guards. There was no changing that fact. But that was okay, because Amanda was worth it. She’d spend time in jail, sure, but so long as she got Amanda to her party, then she’d accept her fate.

By some small mercy of the gods, no party of mounted guards came up behind her, and no Wardens tried to stop them as she finally reached the boundary of the kingdom, loping out into the open air of the fields beyond the border. Breathing heavily, she slowed still further, ambling along at a walk as her head swung around, looking for…

…there, perhaps five hundred yards away from the border, a campsite set up just off the road, a ribbon of smoke rising from it. Huffing, she started towards it, only for Amanda to pat her massive shoulder. “I think we can walk the rest of the way,” she said softly, and so Hannah stopped, waiting for Amanda to slide off of her back before she transformed back to her body, still breathing heavily from the long run. Amanda was staring at her with an unreadable expression. “So…now what?” she asked.

Hannah shrugged, turning back to the forest behind them, aware that the Wardens up in their camouflaged platforms in the trees were likely watching them, and it was only a matter of time before word of what happened in the trading town reached them. “I don’t know,” she lied, before she smiled at Amanda. “So, am I going to get the chance to meet your party that I’ve been trying to get you to, or no?”

Amanda stared at her for a moment longer before she nodded, turning towards the distant camp, wincing slightly as her arm wrapped once more around her side, and alarm spiked in Hannah’s gut at the gesture. “Yeah, sure.”

But then the sound of very rapidly approaching footsteps caught Hannah’s ears. She whirled back towards the forest, expecting to see guards or Wardens coming after them, only to freeze, her mouth dropping open in shock as she recognized Barbara running faster than Hannah had ever seen her run, Elenath cradled safely in her hands. For a moment, Hannah was confused until she realized that Barbara must have used _Haste_ to move as quickly as possible. No, even more than that, she must have cast the spell over and over again, likely to the point of near exhaustion to cover the distance from the trading town to the border.

Almost as if she was trying to prove Hannah’s suspicions correctly, the moment that Barbara reached the two of them, she skidded to a halt, chest heaving for breath as she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees as she retched, Elenath cawing hoarsely as she fluttered over to Hannah’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s help her,” Hannah said to Amanda, who nodded. The two of them stepped over to Barbara, lifting her arms over their shoulders, and Amanda hissed at the movement, and Hannah grimaced as she realized that Barbara’s clothes were soaked through with sweat, her pale face completely slick with it.

“You two can recuperate for a bit at the camp,” Amanda grunted as they began to help Barbara walk down the road, the dark-haired elf’s feet dragging in the dirt as she continued to gasp for breath. “How much trouble are you in?”

Hannah sighed heavily. “I’ll likely be arrested. But don’t worry, getting you to your party makes it all worth it. I’ll serve my time and life will go on.”

“That’s…not…fair…” Barbara gasped. “It’s complete…horseshit that…you’re being punished…for _their_ prejudices.” She took a few more deep breaths before she managed to get her feet under her, and she was able to walk under her own power, even if those first few steps were slow and trembling as a newborn fawn’s were. “It’s not fair.”

Hannah grimaced once more. “Life isn’t fair.”

“Okay, that’s fucking bullshit and you know it,” Amanda snapped, her face tight with pain. “Come with us. _Both_ of you.”

Shocked silence answered that and Hannah and Barbara glanced at each other. It was Barbara who was the first to look back at the forest behind them, her face torn, and Hannah could sympathize with why. Barbara had other friends and colleagues and a small library that she’d be leaving behind. Even Hannah would be leaving her home behind, but…she glanced at the forest wall behind her before turning around and scanning the open horizon in front of her. She’d be abandoning her homeland, and yet…

Then Amanda spoke again, her voice small and plaintive and almost broken. “If…if you don’t want to, our party leader is a High Elf Paladin, and her family is very well-respected amongst all the Elven Realms. I’m sure that if we needed to, we could pay for your amnesty so that you won’t face time in prison for defending me.”

Hannah shot Amanda a shocked glance. “But…for striking a town’s guards, that would be at _least_ five hundred gold!”

Amanda’s voice was quiet but dead serious when she answered. “Hannah, if I’m worth going to prison to defend, then you are absolutely worth the fines to keep you free, no matter how high. If I have to go into debt to my party for a decade or more, then I will. A hundred times over, I _will_. You’re worth it.”

Barbara turned to Hannah, her face determined. “Let’s do it.”

Hannah blinked. “What?”

“Let’s do it. If she’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep you out of prison, then she’s someone that’s worth traveling with.”

Despite how pale Amanda’s face was from pain, she managed to flash her signature crooked grin. “Aw, does that mean your opinion of me has improved, Barbie?”

Barbara narrowed her eyes threateningly at Amanda. “Call me that again and you’ll regret it,” she promised in a low voice before she paused. “But…yes. The moment that Hannah was in trouble, you came to her defense, even before I could get to her. You took on three guards with your bare hands, even knowing that they might have tried to kill you in response to your attacks. And now you are willing to do whatever you can to help Hannah, whether that’s by offering the both of us a spot in your party or by paying for her amnesty. My…original perception of you was flawed. I apologize.”

Amanda stared at her for a moment before gravely nodding. “Thank you, Barbara. I really appreciate your apology, and I whole-heartedly accept it.”

Before any of them said anything else, a voice called out from the camp ahead of them. “Amanda! It’s about _time_ you…are you okay?” The speaker was a human woman about Amanda’s age, with long brunette hair arranged tied back in a half ponytail and curiously crimson eyes. She ran forward even as other members began to pour out of the camp, words of greetings on their lips as the human reached the three of them, and she immediately lifted her hands. A white nimbus appeared around them, and Amanda breathed a sigh of relief as the white pallor of her face went away, and the tense, pained set of her shoulders relaxed.

“Thanks, Akko,” she said with a relieved grin.

Akko gave a rather pleased smile before she turned her attention to the other two. “Who are these two?”

“Ah, right. This is Hannah, half-elf Druid, and her friend Barbara, the elf…wizard? Did I guess right?” she asked, and Barbara nodded.

Akko gave them both a beaming grin. “Hey! My name is Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko. I’m a Bard!”

The rest of them had reached them, and introductions went around. Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger, the gnome Artificer. Jasminka Antonenko, the half-orc Monk. Lotte Jansson, the human Cleric, and Sucy Manbavaran, the Alchemist. When Hannah leaned in close to ask Amanda what the grey-skinned woman’s race was Amanda could only shrug and shake her head with a rather uncomfortable expression, though Hannah could understand her discomfort…just _why_ did Sucy have pointed teeth? And then…an absolutely gorgeous elf approached, standing tall and proud, an elegant sword at her hip, and Hannah couldn’t help but stare in awe at the woman who looked like she belonged on a throne, not in a group of ragtag adventurers.

But…Hannah’s eyes flicked the other elf’s ears and her luscious blonde hair with tea green highlights and her stomach roiled uneasily. The High Elf Amanda had mentioned. Hannah had never yet met a High Elf that acted with anything less than aloof derision, and so she reflexively ducked her head, cringing as she waited for the inevitable dismissive words as she put Hannah in her place as a half-

Soft, gentle fingers on her chin that tilted Hannah’s head up, and she looked up into blue eyes that shone with compassion. “They…did not treat you well, did they?” A gentle smile. “If Amanda is bringing you back to us, then you are undoubtedly worthy of our admiration. You are well come to our party.”

That had Hannah’s breath freezing in her throat and her eyes flaring open with shock. It baffled her mind that a High Elf would be so kind or accepting of a half-elf, not after all that she had endured over her lifetime, but there was no malice or deceit in those blue eyes. “Umm…” she started, completely floored at the kindness in the elf’s voice. In that instant, Hannah knew that she would follow the beautiful elf before her to the ends of the earth.

“I am Diana Cavendish, Countess of Wedinburgh, known amongst the High Elves as Caelynn Galanodel.”

Hannah frowned in confusion. “Caelynn…Galanodel?”

A soft chuckle. “You misunderstand. I prefer the name Diana Cavendish, for that is the name I am proudest of, and the name that my subjects know and love me by. My elven name is only spoken by those too arrogant to appreciate the accomplishment of the other races. Please, call me Diana. That is the name that will make my heart glad to hear. What is your name?”

Hannah blinked, flinched, and looked to the side, years of torment swirling in her chest. “My child name was Mella, but my adult name is that I received after my parents passed…is _Hanariel_.”

For the first time, Lady Diana’s eyes flared open with surprise before they narrowed in anger, and blue eyes glanced at the others before she switched to elvish, her voice soft. “ _Hanariel…Daughter of a Thing…_ ” she murmured before shaking her head. “ _This name will not do._ ” She stepped slightly back from Hannah, hands resting lightly on her shoulders, switching to Common. “What name do you want to be known by?”

Hannah fidgeted slightly. “Hannah, if it please my lady.”

“No reason to call me ‘my lady,’” Diana said firmly before frowning softly. “Is that from the elven _hana_?” she asked, her voice gentle, and Hannah knew what she was actually asking. Rather than being the daughter of a thing, was Hannah actually calling herself the thing instead of calling her father the thing.

But then, Amanda suddenly cut in. “I’m not so sure about what you two are talking about,” she said, voice firm, “but I know the human meaning of the name Hannah. It means ‘favor’ or ‘grace.’” She stepped forward, reaching out with her hands and gently grasping Hannah’s hand. “And if you ask me, I can’t think of a name that better suits you.”

Hannah was blushing, and she glanced over to see Barbara smirking at her. But then she looked around at all the others, and save for Constanze (who looked dour) and Sucy (who looked indifferent), the rest of them were looking at her with welcoming smiles.

For the first time in a very, _very_ long while, Hannah was surrounded by people who accepted her for who she was and did not judge her for her heritage. Feeling tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, she looked over to Amanda, whose face was absolutely overjoyed as she looked back at Hannah, an emotion that Hannah felt in her own heart shining in her eyes. Seeing that emotion in Amanda’s eyes and the acceptance on the faces of the others meant that there was only one answer that she could give:

“Yes. My name is Hannah.”


End file.
